Settling in, ready to begin
14 Feb 2017
8 February, 2017
Starting secondary school can feel like a daunting prospect, which is why College aims to ensure its new students get the best possible start.
Each House runs its own induction programme, where new Year 9 students, together with Year 13s, take part in various fun activities. By the time they gathered in Chapel early on Monday 30 January, to mark the official start of their College education, many of them already felt at home in their House.
Teacher in Charge of General Science Arthur McGregor led the 2017 Year 9 orientation programme. “There’s a lot to take in when you arrive at a new school and this helps ease the transition,” he says.
The programme is designed to set the scene, establish fundamental College values, introduce key personnel, help them navigate the campus. As well as administrative details such as issuing text books and stationery, the boys also took part in athletics and swimming trials, had voice assessments and a comprehensive ICT orientation, which included Internet Safety and Risk Assessment Consultant John Parsons talking about cyber safety. They also learned a waiata, “Tihore Mai”, which they sung at the powhiri on Wednesday 1 February.
Mr McGregor says he could see a change in the boys over the course of the programme. They started “all new and unsure of themselves, but were soon feeling much more comfortable with each other and in this environment.”