After an unexpected start to 2021, CLC students have spent the first 2 weeks of Term participating in a comprehensive orientation program designed to prepare them for the year ahead and give them an opportunity to develop the skills they need to succeed in high school and beyond.
Students participated in lots of fun activities including You Can Do It lessons, pathway planning, team building, growth mindset activities and expected behaviours workshops. Year 7 and 8 students also participated in a lightening carnival, gratitude activities, novelty games and sport lessons while our Year 9’s had heaps of fun in our Big Day In.
Our Peer Support Leaders also ran sessions with the Year 7 students around getting to know the College, making connections, how to read timetables and tips for getting organised, which provided students with a unique opportunity to get feedback from students who had already been in their shoes.
Throughout the two weeks we saw lots of smiling faces, and lots of new friendships being formed. Feedback from our students indicated that lessons were fun and helped get them ready for the school year. “Orientation helped us learn our way around, and where our classes are. My favourite part was getting to know everyone, it was really fun”, said Jackson.
“It gave us an opportunity to meet with our peers and make some new friends”, commented Bella. “At first it was a bit nerve wracking, because it was a brand new school, but after settling in during orientation it helped me relax a lot, the teachers all seem really nice, there are so many teachers here.”
We asked College Principal, Kya Graves why our orientation program is so important, “Our orientation program is part of how we do things at Coastal Lakes College. It provides an opportunity for students to connect with us and for us to connect with our students.
These connections are an important part in establishing ongoing relationships that are fundamental to students’ success. It ensures that they know that they have staff members across the College who they can chat with, who they can ask for help from if they have any questions and who are there for them. It also ensures that our staff understand who each child is and what is important to them.”
Our orientation program is provided in addition to our robust transition program that we hold with students in Year 6 of the year prior and together help to ease any nervousness students might be feeling by guiding them through what they can expect as they start High School.