Our approach for Angelica
It took us a bit of time to really connect and bond with Angelica, though reserved she would light up when we spoke about topics they loved, be it the K-Pop Band BTS or Bubble tea! We knew they had the ability to achieve their goals, but also knew something was holding them back. As our bond strengthened we learnt about the pressure and expectations they had on themselves. Like so many others like her, they felt they had to know all the answers and if things didn’t make sense they would avoid it. Things would pile up and when it got too overwhelming they would shut down. This came to a head when COVID hit in 2020.
Online learning was challenging for so many students, like so many students, Angelica disengaged from school, and was overwhelmed because things didn’t make sense and we stopped part way through 2020. Angelica’s parents are amazing, they are some of the most caring, kind and considerate people we’ve met, they saw their child was struggling and had closed themself off. We reconnected with them in 2021 when Yr 12 came knocking and Angelica needed support with Biology and Maths.
Most students are not taught how to learn, what to prioritise or how to manage their time. We helped Angelica understand the importance of these foundation skills and slowly but steadily she got better at them. They excelled at their SACs and their confidence started to build! We achieved this by focusing on concepts and practicing as many questions as we could. We found the learning style that best suited her; we focused on helping her work smarter not harder. The skills we introduced compounded with her being open to learning and change helped her improve over a short period of time in Yr 12.
Our journey with Angelica was filled with twists and turns and cliffs, but her determination to follow the process and her trust in us is what saw her develop not just academically but psychologically and emotionally as well. The crowning achievement during our time together was when she called us when things got overwhelming. We were so proud of her since it would have been so easy to just close herself off; but she asked for help and support. We understood what overwhelmed her and together we created a solution for it.
We are proud to have been by her side through what was a tough time in her life and are so proud of what she has achieved. We wish her every success in life after Yr 12.