MELBOURNE - Since the early days of her teaching career, Antonella Rosati understood how important it is for students to have a strong relationship with their teachers.

“When I started as a primary school teacher, my interest in students’ well-being was present from the very beginning,” Rosati explained.

“I quickly realised that not all kids have the privilege of a stable home life, or parents to talk openly with.

“So, school often becomes a safe place for these children to feel heard, understood and supported.”

According to Rosati, building a strong and solid relationship with students and their families is a foundational part of a teacher’s job. She believes it’s critical for both personal and academic growth.

Rosati, who has worked at a range of schools throughout her career, also says “every single student should have the right to experience success, and success can be defined in many different ways”.

“For some, it’s synonymous with good grades. For others, athletic ability.

“[Sometimes it’s about] achieving a personal goal related to learning something specific, or performing at one’s best when it comes to a particular task,” she added.

“The role we educators have is to find the space in which students can experience success.”

Rosati’s transition from teacher to Year 8 and 11 coordinator at Mercy College gave her a broader perspective on education that included the mental well-being of students.

After that role, Rosati moved to London to begin working as a teacher again. The experience reinforced her view that, “no matter where you are, students want the same thing”.

“[They all want] to be heard, recognised and to have a positive and constructive relationship with their teacher.”

Upon returning to Australia, Rosati returned to her coordinator role, but now at Presentation College in Windsor, where she worked for the next 18 years.

During her time there, she held various leadership roles.

Rosati has been at Siena College for girls since 2019 and has been appointed Deputy Principal Wellbeing. At Siena, she’s been able to apply those principles that have always accompanied her.

“We want girls to have the awareness to understand when they need help and to be able to seek it,” she said.

“That’s why we’ve developed a project at school that we call ‘Wellness’, which has been incorporated into the curriculum.”

“Under the program, the relationship with students is as central to the strategy as it is to learning.

“There’s a link between learning and wellness. They are two elements that cannot be separated in the context of school.

“Teachers also have to teach how to be well, and they have a responsibility to get to know their students, to understand when they need help or if they have mental health problems.”

Rosati added that at Siena College there are three counsellors available to students, who are also lucky enough to have two wonderful therapy dogs.

In Rosati’s experience, the biggest challenge for the younger generation social media, as it brings with it “the fear of being judged and the impact that certain comments can have on them and on their perception of themselves.”

Rosati urges people not to underestimate the role that teachers have in creating and maintaining a relationship with students, “especially when it comes to reconnecting with students who are under involved [at school].”

“The dialogue that is established with teachers,” the Deputy Principal Wellbeing pointed out, “is often very powerful.

“Sometimes, all it takes is a chat at the end of class, or during the lunch break, or even just an email to inform them of what’s going on in the classroom.” 

With the Year 12 girls, Rosati often talks to them about the role of women and their empowerment. She stresses to them how important it is to be financially independent and aware, and to take a personal interest in this fundamental aspect of one’s daily life, rather than delegating it to others.

Rosati’s views on the topic come thanks in part to her father, an Abruzzese who emigrated to Australia in the late 1950s. Roseti’s dad was always very insistent with his three daughters that they study, pursue satisfying careers and find their place in the world.