Big Fish Little Fish 鈥 Becoming
Year 6 is such a special time. Our young people are over halfway through their formal schooling, having navigated seven of thirteen years. They have grown exponentially; physically, intellectually, socially and emotionally. They have become adept at learning, engaging with others and working independently, their opinions are better informed armed with more knowledge and experience to support their thinking. They sit as leaders of the Primary School, confident, capable and connected. Your children are extraordinary.
Sometimes supporting your young person to move from Primary into Secondary can feel like releasing Nemo from his aquarium at home into the vast ocean. We know logically that our young people have already experienced seven years of schooling, we know they have transitioned from year level to year level and engaged with a variety of teachers and made lots of friends, yet we still worry about their transition past the Chinese Garden in Primary to the Secondary College Green within the same educational environment.
As a parent we never stop worrying about our young people. Most parents and carers would say that all they desire is a happy child, and while this is true, we also hold hopes and dreams for our children deeply within our hearts. We want them to feel success, we want them to achieve, we don鈥檛 want to see them face challenges and stumble or fall, particularly if we ourselves have faced trials in our schooling lives and so we must take care not to project our own fears about this transition on to our young people.
While there is no doubt that the move from Year 6 to Year 7 is an adjustment for children (and their family), be encouraged that one of the greatest determinant鈥檚 of success will be how parents and carers, in partnership with educators, support these students in their 鈥榙ive鈥 from the smaller pond to the bigger pond.
- Be positive and realistic about the move - answer their questions or help them find answers.
- Assure them that having more teachers does mean more support.
- Encourage them that they already know how to learn, how to navigate new environments, and how to make friends.
- Let them know that fitting into a new way of doing things will take some time and that鈥檚 okay.
- Remind them that you will always be there for them and together with their teachers there isn鈥檛 anything they can鈥檛 navigate.
- They are ready for the next adventure.
All they need to do is 鈥淛ust Keep Swimming.鈥
Blessings
Mrs Nicole Gregory | Principal