Year 6 to Year 7 Transition

Year 6 to Year 7 Transition

Transition is the process we undertake when we experience change in our lives. For children and families, times of transition and change can be particularly stressful and challenging. Managing these obstacles by even the smallest amount can make a big difference.

At St. Peter Chanel, we believe that by initiating conversations, building strong relationships and implementing a range of purposeful strategies that we can equip our students with the necessary skills to experience an effective transition into secondary school. From the beginning of the academic year, transition is embedded into the daily ins and outs of learning for our Year Six students.

We acknowledge that students need to acquire and apply technology skills to be capable of functioning. It is also evident that students need to manage their learning with the use of technology independently in secondary school. In response to this we ensure that technology is integrated into all learning areas. The use of Google for Education Apps allows students to apply technology as a tool to learning. Students create, upload, edit and organise their work while collaborating with their peers and teachers.

The ability to interact with and make new friends is a major skill students need to know and use in the first weeks of beginning secondary school. We endeavour to have two transition days as a way for students to develop these skills and meet students that are going to the same secondary school as them. Workshops are run throughout these days to expose students to a range of strategies including ice breakers that students can implement in secondary school. Past students also come along with representatives from the different secondary schools to chat to the students about their experiences at secondary school and answer questions Year Six students may have.

Part of the transition process involves informing the secondary schools that our students are attending, of student academic ability, individual student needs, family consideration and potential groupings of students attending the same school. We ensure that we complete these forms thoroughly to ensure that our students are best catered for.

Term Four is crucial in preparing our students for the leap into secondary school next year. Our Term Four unit has a specific focus on transition and learning opportunities are tailored to the needs of our students in moving onto secondary school.