Transition to College
After the familiar surroundings of primary school, the move to secondary school will be both an exciting and perhaps daunting time for both parent and child. Secondary school is the next stage in a child’s educational journey.
They will be in bigger classrooms and will be learning a variety of new subjects from multiple teachers. To help students adjust, primary and secondary schools work together to ease students through the transition period.
During transition a number of secondary students will revisit their old primary school to tell Year 6 students what secondary school is like. Early in the year, the College will have an open day for parents and their children to come along and meet the staff and see classes in action.
Early in Term 2, primary schools will distribute a Transition Pack to all parents/carers of their Year 6 students which will include an ‘Application for Year 7 Placement’ form. Parents/carers must complete the ‘Application for Year 7 Placement’ form and return it to their primary school by the due date shown in the Transition Pack. During Term 2, primary schools will submit all initial placement requests to our College.
Early in Term 3, primary schools are notified which students have been accepted into Year 7 at our College. The primary schools will then notify parents/carers of the placement offer in writing. It is important to note that schools are not allowed to communicate with parents/carers regarding the status of placement requests until August.
During Term 3 an enrolment pack is mailed out to our prospective Year 7 students along with an invitation to the College’s Parent Information Evening held late in Term 3.
As part of the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, students will participate in an Orientation Day. All government schools hold this Orientation Day on the same day (often the second Tuesday of December). It will include a school tour, meeting fellow students and teachers, and taking part in special lessons and activities.
These transition arrangements throughout the year between primary schools and the College are designed to assist students to settle quickly into secondary school life. There are also orientation programs in Term 4 for students moving from the Junior Campus to Year 10 at the Senior Campus, and Year 10 and 11 students into their VCE and VCE Vocational Major courses.
Students’ comments about their transition:
“My years at the Junior Campus were challenging and fun; I’m ready for the Senior Campus!”
“I am looking forward to high school next year because I can’t wait to meet new people, make new friends, have different rooms and teachers for each subject and to try my best in new and different activities.”
“I am happy, excited and scared about going to high school because I wonder how different it will be and what different things we will do.”
“I’m looking forward to new experiences at the Senior Campus.”
“The three things I’m looking forward to the most about going to Secondary School are meeting new friends, learning new things and going to camp.”
