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Defence Support Mentor

Barry Deirdre Staff

Hel­lo!

I am Casua­r­i­na Street Pri­ma­ry School’s Defence School Men­tor (DSM)

Wel­come to our school!

My name is De Bar­ry (or as the stu­dents call me, Miss De). My role with­in the school is to make the tran­si­tion for you and your child/​children as smooth as pos­si­ble and to assist you with any con­cerns you may have about their edu­ca­tion­al, emo­tion­al or social needs. 

As a mem­ber of a Defence Force fam­i­ly, I am aware of the hard­ships and sac­ri­fices that are placed upon Defence fam­i­lies and under­stand that mov­ing schools can be quite daunt­ing for chil­dren and their families.

This pam­phlet briefly out­lines the role of a DSM. If I can be of assis­tance in any way, please don’t hes­i­tate to con­tact me on (08) 8973 3800 or via email de.​barry@​education.​nt.​gov.​au

I look for­ward to meet­ing you. 

De

What does a Defence School Men­tor (DSM) do? 

A DSM is a liai­son between par­ents, teach­ers, chil­dren and the school.

Who does the DSM help?

The DSM helps and sup­ports all Defence chil­dren at the school should they seek or require assistance. 

Why do we have DSM’s in Schools?

Some­times chil­dren have dif­fi­cul­ties mak­ing new friends as well as under­stand­ing and adjust­ing to the rou­tines of a new school. The DSM will assist chil­dren and fam­i­ly become part of the school community.

The DSM will answer any ques­tions about the school and link fam­i­lies to the right per­son to pro­vide help and assistance.

A Defence School Men­tor is not a teacher but is a mem­ber of the school team.

Some points to remember…

  • When a fam­i­ly mem­ber is absent from home please con­tact me. I am here to assist your child and give them sup­port through­out times of change. 
  • If your child is expe­ri­enc­ing dif­fi­cul­ties set­tling in, find­ing friends, friend­ship issues, or any dif­fi­cul­ties while at CSPS, please con­tact me and I can assist. 
  • When post­ing occurs please advise our school ASAP so we can assist with the tran­si­tion and pre­pare leav­ing packs.
  • DSM’s can pro­vide infor­ma­tion on Defence Edu­ca­tion Assis­tance (DEA) pro­grams like tutor­ing and counselling.
  • Well­be­ing pro­grams will be run through­out the year for chil­dren who expe­ri­ence a par­ent away for long exer­cis­es and/​or deployments.
  • There are no sil­ly ques­tions and no issues to small. Please don’t hes­i­tate to con­tact me at any­time dur­ing your time here at CSPS.