Wellbeing Report 

Fabulous February!

February is always a busy month in the school calendar, which our Year 7 students have quickly found out! It has been wonderful to witness the generosity of spirit and genuine care our students have demonstrated towards each other and the Nazareth community. 

To try to ease our Year 7s into their new environment we have ‘Fabulous February’, where our aim is to focus on connection and belonging – connecting with new students, teachers, routines, and subjects.

With this in mind, we do alter our program to assist the students to feel in control and safe in their surroundings. Some of the strategies in place include:

• Finishing lesson 5-10 minutes early, so that teachers can debrief the students about how they are feeling, if they have any questions, perhaps allow them to write a reflection of the lesson. It also gives them time to pack up; putting books back inside the folder, writing in organiser, perhaps time to chat with fellow classmates, and allow for any concerns/queries to be addressed.
• Students attend to their locker before other year levels, giving them time and space to get organised.
• Using class time as a means of establishing friendships, using course content for some groupwork activities to allow students to interact
• Using a seating plan which eases the anxiety that students can face when they don’t know anyone well, and are unsure about where to sit or who to sit next to. There are also some students who need to be seated at the front and this will help  navigate that issue.
• When doing group work, students are allocated groups, which eases anxiety around students being left out, not having the confidence to form or join a group.
• Establishing guidelines/rules for the classroom, which foster our culture of respect and responsibility.
• Setting goals and talking to teachers about what they want to achieve, academically, socially, mentally.
• Limited homework for the first few weeks, then slowly increasing this.
• For the first week, students had morning tea and lunch together in the Café, so that they had an opportunity to learn how to use the Cafe without the older students around, and have some time as a year level to meet others.
• Special events, such as the Mini Olympics

Nazareth parents can find online information about a range of wellbeing issues on our SchoolTV website. Please click below to find information about TRANSITION TO YEAR 7:

Transition Supports

Transition occurs at this time of year for all students – moving into a new Year level, with different classmates, new teachers, different classrooms and more challenging curriculum can be difficult, causing stress and anxiety.

We also have many new students starting at Nazareth in all  year levels, and this can be just as challenging!

Many strategies have been implemented here at school to ensure the transition is as smooth and happy for all. It can be a challenging time and requires some level of resilience and a positive attitude to new experiences and people. 

The Wellbeing team is here to assist students at those stressful times, so if your child is experiencing anxiety, encourage them to talk to their Pastoral teacher, Head of House, or come and visit me in the Wellbeing Centre.

We also encourage you to use the SchoolTV resource for useful information on all Wellbeing matters, particularly the videos and resources on the topic of school transition.

You also have access SchoolTV via the Nazareth College website homepage, or through your PAM portal.

Ms Jackie Kol

Director of Wellbeing