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Vincentia High School

Vincentia High School

Learning For Life

Telephone02 4441 6766

Emailvincentia-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au

The Defence School Mentor Program

Mrs Copeland

At our school, we are grateful to be able to offer a wide range of programs including the Defence School Mentor Program.

The DSM Program is the initiative of the Defence Community Organisation. The Department of Defence recognises that a Defence student’s education may be impacted by changing schools due to relocating, long periods of separation form a Defence parent, isolation from support networks and operational deployments. To minimise the impact of the Defence lifestyle, schools with a significant number of Defence students can apply for a Defence School Mentor (DSM).

Mrs Jacqueline Copeland has been the DSM at Vincentia High School for nearly six years and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and first-hand experience of the Defence lifestyle. In her role, Jacqui provides support to our Defence families especially when a Defence member lives interstate or is deployed due to service requirements. She also assists new Defence families to settle into the local area and access valuable support networks.

Jacqui can often be seen at recess on a Wednesday at our school café where she meets up with the Defence students and their friends. She works closely with all staff at our school who are very supportive of her and the DSM Program.

Jacqui is also very committed to supporting veterans and veteran organisations in the local area and advocating for the needs of serving, and ex-serving, ADF personnel.

Vincentia High School values our Defence families and feel very fortunate to be able to support them through the DSM Program and Mrs Copeland.

The DSM page on our school's website has been updated with more details and information for Defence families-especially those who are posting in from another location.

Follow this link to the DSM page on our website:

DSM Support