When a third of Camilla Portela’s class caught COVID,she became their source of support

On a normal day Camilla Portela is at the front of the classroom in Fairfield,teaching English and digital skills to her teenage and young adult students from migrant and refugee backgrounds.

But over the past four months her role has transformed:she’s become a translator of health and legal information,walking buddy and emotional support person for her 18 students who are new to the country and don’t yet have a full grasp of the language.

English teacher Camilla Portela was still holding Zoom classes while one third of her class caught COVID-19 and one student lost their mother to the virus. She became a conduit of health information and support for them.

English teacher Camilla Portela was still holding Zoom classes while one third of her class caught COVID-19 and one student lost their mother to the virus. She became a conduit of health information and support for them.Edwina Pickles

One-third of Ms Portela’s class at Navitas English contracted COVID-19 as the virus ripped through the western suburbs,and one student lost his mother. “In south-western Sydney,we were the epicentre of the outbreak of COVID. Normally students would go to Centrelink or their doctor,someone they could trust,” she said.

“But when you’re in lockdown at home,who can you talk to? Teachers were a conduit in trying to help the students.”

Across the education sector,teachers and schools have gone beyond their immediate duties to help families or students in need during lockdown,particularly in parts of Sydney worst-affected by COVID-19. As face-to-face teaching resumes this month,many students will return to class having had their educators steer them through the worst of the pandemic.

At Bennett Road Public School in Colyton,near Mount Druitt,school staff provided more than 115 food hampers to families during August. They included frozen or home-cooked meals,hygiene and cleaning products,Woolworths gift cards for families to buy essentials,and free meat from a local butcher.

The school also worked with community agencies to send toys and craft activities for birthday presents or to keep children occupied at home.

It was a similar story at Punchbowl Public School,in the hard-hit Canterbury-Bankstown local government area,where staff co-ordinated withlocal charities including Lighthouse Community Support for groceries and food parcels to be sent to families in need.

Deliveries of bread,milk and essentials were sent to those in locked down apartment blocks where parents couldn’t leave the house,while stationery and reading packs were delivered to the school’s refugee families.

Back in Fairfield,Ms Portela became the trusted person her students turned to when they struggled to comprehend what was going on around them. Her online classes quickly changed from English lessons to emergency information sessions,as rules and restrictions changed from week to week.

“We’re an English school;the language was around understanding the message from key people and how to access things online. What if someone calls you from NSW Health,and asks what’s your name? What’s an LGA? Where does it start,where does it stop,where can I go? It was long hours,” she said.

“It called for a different approach to teaching. I can have a lesson planned,but today this happened,so let’s work through this issue.”

She said her students were frightened and confused by what was happening,since many of them lived alone or did not have established social connections. “One of my student’s family was very sick,some of them were very sick. Students would call me from the ambulance or from hospital and say:‘What’s going on teacher,why am I here?’,” she said.

“There was no time limit. I could get a message at 5 o’clock in the morning or late in the evening;it didn’t matter. We were just there to help them.”

In time,her students became subject experts who could convey key messages to their families.“It was beautiful to see the youth step up and help people who were very frightened,” she said.

As the pandemic wore on,Ms Portela tried to get them to talk about their mental health and take care of themselves by going for daily walks. When she realised many of them didn’t have anyone in their area who they could walk with,she started a Zoom walking group each day at 5pm.

“I had people from Blacktown and Guildford,Villawood,we were all walking together. It was only half an hour but it brought us together,we started talking and showing things about our area,” she said.

“We have really dark days,but we also have really nice days. They know that I’m there for them,whether they are calling me from the ICU or I’m calling them to check they are staying home.”

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Natassia Chrysanthos is the federal health reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age,based at Parliament House in Canberra.

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