PASS at MARSS

Last Wednesday I went to the Migrant And Refugee Settlement Services of the ACT Inc. I had a meeting with the coordinator of the Program for After School Studies. Its a program for students from non-English speaking backgrounds who need tutoring. The coordinator, Andrew, was so nice and asked me to start that afternoon. So now I'm a tutor three afternoons a week from 3:30 to 6:00. I've already gone three times and I am headed back this afternoon.

Some of the tutors that have been there longer have specific students that they help. Since I'm just starting I wait around until someone needs help. I told Andrew that my best subject to tutor was Maths. I have helped four students in English, Biology and Organic Chemistry which I absolutely adored and afterwards I really missed my Honors Chem II class. No Math yet. The students I tutored were all in high school. I have no idea where any of them were from or what languages they were speaking to their friends. The biggest problem is sentence structure. They know the English words but putting them together in a sensible structure on paper is when they get confused. I find myself trying to explain verb tenses and run on sentences. Thank goodness for Mrs. Cox.

MARSS is in Civic which is kind of the downtown area in Canberra. I catch a bus that's down the street from my house. The buses are very scheduled and are usually on time. However, they only come about every hour so you have to watch your bus schedule or you'll be waiting forever. I did not have that explained to me the first time I took the bus. I'm now a pro and love going into the city. The PASS program was the first place I applied when I got here but my paperwork was lost somehow and they never notified me. But all is sorted now and I'm really excited to have another place to volunteer.