2025 Heads of House 

Navigating New Beginnings: Finding Joy in Transition to High School

Welcome to the 2025 school year at Mount Alvernia College! To our new parents, we extend a warm welcome to the Mount Alvernia community—your family is now part of a rich tradition of learning, growth, and joy. To our returning families, welcome back! We look forward to sharing another exciting year with you as we continue to nurture and support your daughters on their educational-wellbeing journey.

This week, all students actively participated in a week focused on academic mentoring and readiness. For many, especially our Year 7 students, this marked the beginning of a journey filled with excitement, nerves, and the promise of new beginnings. To ensure a smooth transition to high school, our Year 7 students took part in orientation programs designed to familiarize them with timetables, locker systems, and school routines. Their Year 11 ambassadors played an instrumental role in supporting them, helping their allocated Year 7 buddy feel welcome, connected, and confident in navigating Mount Alvernia’s systems. However, for most Year 7 students, the biggest challenge goes beyond academics—it’s about making new friends and building social connections.

Friendships are a central part of every young person’s high school experience, yet they can also be one of the most unpredictable aspects. A study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University found that only 1% of friendships that began in seventh grade lasted for the full five years of the study. In fact, 76% of these friendships didn’t even make it through the first year.

This doesn’t mean all friendships end in conflict. Most of the time, friends simply ‘untie’ or drift apart as they grow, change, and discover new interests. While this is a natural part of life, it can feel unsettling and even heartbreaking for young people.

At Mount Alvernia College, 2025 is a year to celebrate joy, including the joy that comes from building authentic and meaningful connections. For some students, this comes naturally. Others might bring friendships from primary school that help ease the transition. But no matter where they start, all students will encounter changes in their friendships within the first six months of high school.

As parents and educators, it’s important to reassure our young people that it’s okay for friendships to change—and even end. What matters is that they approach every relationship with kindness, empathy, and an open heart. Remind them to embrace the opportunities to meet new people and find joy in those moments of shared laughter, understanding, and belonging.

As we start this year full of joy, let’s look for glimmers of connection and growth in every experience. Students are encouraged to seek support through their Homeroom Mentor Teachers (HRMT) and Heads of House (HOH), who are always there to guide and assist them through this important time of transition.