Year 7 

Welcome and Transition at Marian

Welcome and Transition at Marian

The new school year brings many different emotions for every student. The excitement of new classes, challenges, friends and teachers are some of the many thoughts students experience. Yet, for the ‘New Year 7 Cohort’, this is a time of mixed emotions. Not only are they excited to walk through the Marian gates in their uniform for the first time, but they are also anxious for what the first week, and in some cases, what the whole year might bring.

As the Year Level Leader I worked alongside the  Transition Leader and the Year 7 Pastoral Care Team, to create a smooth transition program for our new members of the Marian Community. Our aim was to enable the students to become familiar with their new environment and the people they closely work with. For this to occur, students spent their first day of school with the homeroom teacher, spending time in their homerooms to organise their lockers and as well as participating in ‘Ice Breaker’ activities and understanding the purpose of homeroom. 

We also wanted them to understand and feel comfortable using the resources available to them. On their second day students once again spent time with their homeroom teacher to familiarise themselves with their laptops and the use of the Seqta learning platform as well as other technologies, including the use of school printers and the signing in and out Kiosk. 

 Most of all, we wanted the students to know that at Marian we are a welcoming community that values all individuals. During our first school assembly students were acknowledged and given recognition as the newcomers to the Marian community. They were also acknowledged by their year 8 buddies and participated in the Marian Amazing Race, giving them the opportunity to become familiar with the school grounds and students in other year levels. 

During the students' second week at Marian, students were provided with various skills associated with the transition into the many subjects they study in year 7. This was further supported by two incursions ‘Hit the Ground Running’ and ‘Organising Students’. These incursions gave students the opportunity to understand hurdles they may come across and strategies to overcome them. Students were also able to become familiar with the various ways to plan and organise their workload in order to succeed and have a balanced lifestyle between school and home. To end the transition week, we felt that inviting parents/carers and students for a sausage sizzle and an information evening, would enable us to meet and greet parents/carers, giving them the opportunity to also become familiar with their daughter’s classroom and  homeroom teacher. It was a great way to welcome all to the Marian College community.

I thank all students, teachers and parents/carers for their commitment during the transition period. As a team we are all looking forward to the many more exciting activities ahead, especially camp which is happening on the 15 - 17 of March. 

Ms Mandy Borg 

Year 7 Level Leader

Ms Shelley Smith 

Transition and Development Coordinator