Student Services

The College provides a range of student services. Further details are provided on the College Website and via other publications.

  • Library and Information Services

  • Pastoral Care and Wellbeing

  • Learning Adjustment Education

  • Student Counselling

  • Student Leadership

  • Careers and Pathways

  • Curricular and Co-curricular Programs

  • Learning Advancement and Enrichment Program (LEAP)

Louise Humann Library – Information Literacy and Wide Reading Program

Wide Reading Program

We believe reading is an essential life skill and through the Louise Humann Library we integrate a Reading Program into one English lesson per cycle in Years 7 to 9. In these classes a Teacher Librarian works closely with students to promote and encourage reading so that students of all abilities are given the opportunity to develop enduring reading habits and discover the joy of reading.

In these classes, students are exposed to a wide range of literature to encourage a love of reading, taught the value of good reading skills so that they can become independent readers and learners, encouraged to read a variety of genres to broaden their interests, introduced to different forms of information that are available to them and taught the skills to improve their reading comprehension. In the Library Wide Reading Program, we strive to promote and develop a strong reading culture throughout the College.

SURF

(Sustained Uninterrupted Reading for Fun)

SURF is also for students in Years 7 to 9 as a means of fostering a love of reading, improving literacy skills and creating a ‘reading culture’. Students are asked to take a novel of their choice to their Lesson 5 class every day, Monday to Friday, and for the first few minutes of the lesson, the students and their classroom teacher read silently in an undisturbed and mindful environment. If students do not have a self-selected book to read, they are asked to respect the reading climate of the classroom and read the College information in their student planner. Students and staff in every subject, except Materials Technology and practical Physical Education classes, are expected to participate.

The aim of the SURF program is to:

  • Foster an interest in reading as a leisure activity.

  • Improve students’ reading skills and increase concentration.

  • Demonstrate the importance of reading by making it a priority.

  • Improve the students’ vocabulary, comprehension and fluency in speech and writing.

  • Emphasise the importance of reading in all subjects – it is not just an English skill.

  • Give students practice in sustained reading.

  • Enable students to see teachers in all subjects as role models for reading.

The Information Literacy Program

By integrating traditional and modern literacies, along with 21st century skills across the curriculum, the Library aims to provide students with an education that will prepare them for life after school and a lifetime of learning. Our focus is to create competent, independent and resilient learners who develop high-level metacognition skills to be able to transfer technology and research skills across all disciplines. In the ever-increasing information landscape, students need to be discerning users of information and develop strategies for researching and attaining higher levels of understanding beyond the superficial.

From Year 7, students are introduced to a wide range of resources, both digital and physical, and technologies that the College Library provides both in the Library and through the Library Resources page via SIMON. To assist with the learning process and improve students’ deeper understanding, they are introduced to the six step learning process (Defining, Locating, Selecting, Organising, Presenting and Evaluating) in subjects across the curriculum.

In the Library Critical and Creative Thinking Program, we strive to prepare students for VCE studies. We design learning experiences to develop Critical and Creative Thinking Processes, an important element of the Victorian Curriculum, while enhancing student enjoyment of their studies and assisting to improve outcomes.

The Integration of Interdisciplinary Learning into the Curriculum

Interdisciplinary Learning relates to a range of knowledge, skills and behaviours which cross disciplinary boundaries and are essential to ensuring students are prepared as active learners and problem solvers for success at school and beyond. Its areas of focus include ways of thinking, communicating, conceiving and realising ideas and information. The College aims to develop students’ growth in the use of technology, in becoming effective communicators who, as individuals, view learning as a life-long process.

Thinking processes, skills, behaviours and awareness of one’s own thinking are essential for functioning in society both within and beyond school. With critical and creative thinking skills crossing all areas of curriculum, students develop the ability to process information, reason, problem solve and reflect on the learning opportunities presented.

Communication is central to the capacity to demonstrate and convey what one has learned in different contexts and to different people. Students learn to understand that language and discourse differ in different disciplines and that there is a need to learn the different literacies involved in each.

Information and Communication Technologies are now extraordinarily broad ranging and competency in their use is increasingly important. At Marist-Sion College, all students use computers in their subjects, in different ways and at different times. Students will be given instruction in using this technology for research, presentation and information sharing and design purposes. This instruction will be integrated into the study in Learning Areas.

Students will develop skills in the use of different media, the College’s Intranet and the Internet for research purposes. They will also learn how to select appropriate resources and to discriminate between the resources available. Students will develop skills in word processing, file management for the storage and retrieval of information, the use of spreadsheets for the storage and manipulation of data and the use of presentation software for multimedia arrangements of their own work. Students will make use of web applications such as blogs, wikis and podcasts. Those who are already proficient in computer usage will be able to develop their computer literacy skills and progress to higher levels of application.

Laptop Program

Marist-Sion College has embraced 1:1 technology through the implementation of the student laptop program. The program aims to prepare students for learning in the 21st Century and to live and work in a digital world. Technology provides meaningful learning experiences in more effective and contemporary ways through the integration of Information Communication Technology. The College provides all students in Years 7 to 12 with Windows based laptops and access to the College Network, Learning Management System, digital textbooks, Internet and IT support.

21st Century technology provides opportunities for students to learn collaboratively with other students in our local classroom and globally in classrooms around the world. The laptops allow students to organise their electronic resources and present them professionally with industry standard software applications and effectively research and analyse information in a range of subjects.

Enrichment Opportunities

The College aims to develop within each student a love of learning, an enquiring mind and the desire to strive for their personal best. Enrichment opportunities are available across all Colour areas of the curriculum/extra-curricular to extend or enrich student learning.

The Enrichment Program is designed to cater specifically to the needs of students with varied gifts and talents. There are many exciting opportunities available to our students. The Program provides challenge for more able students who have particular interests and talents, offering tasks and activities which promote higher order thinking, skill development, problem solving and independent learning. There are exciting extra-curricular activities in the program – some of which are open to all, others are available to selected students by invitation.

Learning Enrichment and Advancement Program (LEAP)

For our students who require extension beyond the classroom, LEAP (Learning Enrichment and Advancement Program) offers a variety of opportunities.


In addition to our continued focus on targeted teaching to challenge and provide academic growth for all students, LEAP allows students to explore their personal passions and take part in academic challenges inside and outside of the classroom.


Students are carefully selected for the program based on a combination of their academic performance, attitude to learning and desire to extend their knowledge.


Those who join the program will:


  • Meet regularly with the LEAP Coordinator to ensure their extension and enrichment needs are being met in all of their classes.

  • Be given the opportunity to complete a Passion Project of their own choosing, through which they will be paired with a staff LEAP mentor who will guide and assist them in this endeavour.

  • Participate in lunchtime workshops where they will come together to build study skills, develop and practice critical thinking skills and work on their Passion Projects.

  • Take part in academic challenges outside the classroom, such as external competitions in Mathematics, Science, Humanities, Public Speaking and more.