Year 7 Transition at Marian College

Starting Year 7 at Marian College is the beginning of an exciting new chapter, full of new friendships, opportunities, and experiences. While the transition to secondary school can bring a mix of nerves and excitement, a range of engaging activities and events help students feel supported, connected, and confident from day one. From Orientation Day to Transition Week and community events, each moment plays an important role in building a strong sense of belonging and setting students up for success.

Let’s hear from the students as they share their experiences!

Orientation Day

Briana DeVellis - 7 Brigid

It seems so long ago now, but on Monday, the 8th of November, we had Orientation Day at Marian College. I remember discussing the day with most of my friends from primary school and how nervous but excited we all were. I felt a little more uncertain, as I was the only one from my school who was coming to Marian.

I arrived at the big burgundy gates and felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. I smiled and thought to myself: this is a new chapter in my school life. The easy part - primary school - was over; it was now time to step up to the plate and face new challenges and adventures.

We met our homeroom teacher, other staff members, and our own class cohort. My teacher, Ms Whillas, was very calming yet inviting. She made me feel welcome and shared lots of helpful information. We did many activities to “break the ice,” and through these, I met some new girls who are now part of my close friendship group. It was also lovely to meet the 2026 leadership group, and we had a Q&A with them about life at Marian.

Overall, Orientation Day was a wonderful experience for me and made me look forward to the new year and all the exciting experiences ahead!

1st Day of Year 7

Zara Inguanti - 7 Patrick  

The first day of high school didn’t begin with a bell, but instead with a quiet storm of nerves - lots of them. Waking up way earlier than usual, making sure I didn’t miss the bus, and carrying mountains of books to school - keeping all these things in mind kept me up at night.

As the bus pulled up, it felt like the first real step into high school, even though I hadn’t arrived yet.

However, to my surprise, I wasn’t the only one feeling this way. As a matter of fact, practically everyone I spoke to was experiencing some level of anxiety, which provided comfort in a strange way. After settling into our homeroom, we went over a few basics that Marian students should know when starting.

Our first classes were awesome - mostly because we didn’t have to do a ton of learning and could just ease into the vibe of secondary school. Speaking of easing in, there were lots of transition activities that opened the door to conversation and helped us get familiar with our peers, along with plenty of support from teachers and staff, always there if you had any concerns - which was very reassuring.

By lunchtime, the storm in my head had settled.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that high school feels big, but after finding your groove, it becomes an amazing new world of opportunities, friendships and fun.

Amazing Race

Athena Rigor - 7 Nagle

The Amazing Race really helped us students strengthen ties within our cohort and establish meaningful bonds for 2026. The whole Year 7 intake was divided into groups in the gym, and we spent a few minutes breaking the ice and sharing a vibe with other peers from different homerooms.

Subsequently, the new Year 7s of 2026 got to acclimatise to Marian’s environment by familiarising themselves with the school’s layout and racing fellow squads. Each group was provided with a worksheet to fill out and was led to designated areas to find the answers we needed. The teams that completed it 1st, 2nd, and 3rd attained a small prize!

However, the remaining groups received a free lollipop. I even managed to snag the choc-vanilla lollipop - the best flavour of them all! (Hehe, only kidding!)

In conclusion, I’d say that this event was an absolute blast and a brilliant way to melt the awkwardness. Honestly, it wasn’t just about learning the school’s layout; we also learnt how to collaborate as a team and form sincere friendships for the upcoming high school years.

School Services

Ellie Aylet - 7 Patrick

During Transition Week, Year 7 students had the opportunity to learn about Marian College’s school services. These included the School Nurse and the school wellbeing services.

They explained when and how to use these services, where they are located, and their availability. This helped students understand the support available for their physical and mental health and overall wellbeing.

We also learned about the school’s Digital Citizenship Policy, uniform expectations, the consequences of not following them, tips for taking care of our laptops, and some study and homework advice. This helped us understand the rules and how to follow them.

After the assembly, we each received a pamphlet about the school’s wellbeing services and made glitter jars, which was very fun. When students shook the jars, the glitter moved around very fast. The teachers explained that this mimicked how anxious thoughts can whizz around, making it hard to concentrate. When the jars were still, the glitter settled at the bottom, representing how relaxing helps you to focus.

This assembly helped Year 7 students understand the school’s rules, services, uniform expectations, and policies. Plus, we made glitter jars! 

Overall, I thought the assembly was very informative and a useful way to understand how the school can support your health and wellbeing. It was also super fun making the glitter jars.

Building Organisational Skills

Jeuel Delos Santos - 7 Kildare

In Year 6, I didn’t really organise my things that much, almost everything was messy. But in Year 7, your organisation skills are one of the most important skills you need to survive high school. From my experience, if you don’t learn to organise, then it will be really hard to find the things you need for your classes or your homework.      

In the first few weeks of Year 7, I didn’t really mind that my locker was messy, but when I started switching between different classes, I found it hard to find my books because I either misplaced them or accidentally left them at home. This made it take a pretty long time to gather all my things, so I decided to organise my locker, and that helped tremendously. It helped me take my books out faster because everything was neatly stacked and ready for me to grab.

Some useful tips to be more organised are to remember where you put your books and to make sure you put them in a safe place that you will remember. Every morning, or the night before, it is a must to check your timetable so you know what subjects you have for the next day. The most important tip is to ensure you do your homework and stay on top of it so that you don’t fall behind in your subjects. Another useful tip is to always clean your locker, because trust me, your locker will definitely get messy at one point and when you get to that point, make sure to organise it neatly.

House System & Mini Olympics

Valentina Luong -  7 Tullow

One of the most memorable experiences of beginning Year 7 was participating in the Mini Olympics. It was an exciting and meaningful way to start high school, as it gave me and my peers the opportunity to connect with one another in a fun and supportive environment. As new students, it can sometimes feel overwhelming adjusting to a different school setting, but this event helped ease those nerves and created a strong sense of community from the very beginning.

Throughout the day, we participated in a range of activities designed to strengthen teamwork and communication, including beanbag toss, the egg and spoon race, skipping and tunnel ball. Each event required cooperation, encouragement and positive sportsmanship. By working together to complete each challenge, we were able to build trust within our teams and develop important skills such as leadership, resilience and collaboration.

Our school community is divided into four house groups — Iona (red), Kildare (blue), Tara (green) and Clonard (yellow). I was placed into a group of ten within my house colour, and together we competed in each activity. While there was friendly competition between the houses, the main focus of the day was participation, teamwork and showing pride in our house spirit. It was inspiring to see students supporting one another and celebrating each other’s efforts.

One of the highlights of the Mini Olympics was creating cheers and group songs to represent our house colours. This allowed us to demonstrate creativity and enthusiasm while strengthening our sense of belonging within the Marian community. It was enjoyable to see the energy and excitement each group brought to the event.

I am especially grateful to the teachers who organised and coordinated the Mini Olympics, ensuring that the day ran smoothly and that every student felt included. Their effort and dedication made the experience both enjoyable and successful. I also appreciate the students who demonstrated encouragement, fairness and excellent sportsmanship throughout the day.

Overall, the Mini Olympics was a rewarding and memorable experience. It not only helped me feel more confident as a Year 7 student but also strengthened the bonds within our cohort. It was a positive and meaningful way to begin our journey at Marian, and it is a day I will always remember.

Year 7 Wonder Information and Community Evening

Mishika Shan - 7 Delany             

The year 7 Wonder information and  Marian Community Evening where parents, year 7 students and the Marian College community could catch up, create new relationships and for parents to meet some of the teachers at Marian College.

To begin, everyone gathered in the Year 9 - Year 10 building, enjoying the refreshments provided, introducing their families to friends and teachers. Friends, old and new, were taking photos together, playing around, and socialising with one another while having a good time and waiting for teachers to allow us to guide our parents to our homerooms and show them around.

This was the moment when our parents could further meet with our homeroom teachers and socialise with other parents within the homeroom. Our teachers also went through a slideshow containing a lot of important information about the beginning of Year 7. This included things like the Year 7 camp (which will be held from the 25th of March to the 27th of March in Kyneton); a reminder about the school uniform policy and laptop agreement; tips for student organisational skills and school expectations; and we received booklets that provided further information about these topics.

Once this was finished, my classmates and I had a few minutes to chat, laugh, bond, and have fun in the classroom. Before we knew it, the time came to leave. I felt a bit more confident as I left the Marian gates that day, with a smile on my face.