Year 7 Buddies 

Maggie Potuguntla, Year 11, Ridgeway Campus

Recently, the Year 11 students met up with their Year 7 buddies for the first time, and for me it was truly a full circle experience, and I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling like this. I still remember my Year 11 buddy from when I was Year 7, and even though she had graduated by the time I’d entered Year 9, I still looked up to her as a role model, and she definitely eased my transition into Middle Years as it was certainly a big step up from primary school. 

That’s what really motivated me to sign up as a Year 11 buddy, so that I could be that older role model for someone else. The transition from primary school to high school can sometimes be difficult and I think that buddies can definitely help with this. 

The day of meeting our buddies was certainly an exciting one, we were able to bond over a lunchtime and spent that time getting to know a little bit about each other and found out that we had a few things in common. Our Year 7 buddies in my experience were very eager to ask questions about our experiences at Ivanhoe Grammar School and were also excited about their upcoming Year 7 camp. So, I think the Year 11s got a chance to really think back and reflect on their time at Ivanhoe Grammar School while giving a bit of advice and imparting some of our knowledge onto the new Year 7s. 

Overall, I believe that it was a great experience and I am looking forward to catching up with my buddy more as the year progresses. 

Ranjiv Bahr, Year 11, Ridgeway Campus

Volunteering to be a Year 7 buddy wasn’t a hard thing to do. I remembered back to when I was that age, and how I looked up to my buddy. Year 11 seemed really far away at the time, and to have someone who had travelled all that way, come and talk to me about their experience helped me look forward to all that this school had to offer. Additionally, being able to walk through hallways of scary senior kids and still find a familiar face made me realise that there wasn’t much to feel nervous about. Now, to have the opportunity to try and give this feeling to others made me realise how far I’d come.  

Meeting my two buddies was a great experience. During our first meeting, I noticed that all three of us were learning new things about each other. It showed me that the buddy system can help familiarise classmates with each other and can even foster friendships within buddies as they have a Year 11 to share and relate to.  

When they started asking me questions about school, I found that I had a lot of answers - mostly from experience - and I hope that I too, gave them hope for what’s to come. 

We talked about camps, classes, sports, hobbies, anything that we could fit in the time we had, making sure to set a time for a later catch up. 

In the time between these two meetings, I saw a lot of my buddies, walking to their next class, or with their friends at lunch, and I always made sure to give them a quick greeting and to make sure they are doing alright. I know that when I was a Year 7, I would’ve appreciated a lot more of that.  

Since then, I’ve come to know my buddies quite well, whether further connecting with them on their camp, or helping them solve some problems that they may encounter. I think the buddy system is a great arrangement, as it serves as both a tool to welcome the new Year 7s into the Ivanhoe community and as a guide through their time here.