Starting high school is one of those “big moments” in all our lives.

Moving away from friends and routines at primary or intermediate school where you have been one of the “big kids” and coming to an entirely new place with different people and ways of doing things is a lot to adjust to. At Hagley it is important that we understand how students and parents feel about this step and we put a lot of effort into making sure that we get it right for everyone. We checked with our new Year 9s this week on how they had found starting high school and here are some of their comments:

Rowena Lisle

Over these past 3 weeks I have been discovering new things, making new friends, and becoming a better me. Twelve days do mean a lot to me, and these have been the best 12 days of my life. When I'm sick, I don't want to miss a single day of school. I LOVE it so much! The best thing about Hagley is the amount of support I received on my first day. It feels weird...being the young ones again at school. But I've found my way around thanks to my peers and other older students. The hardest thing for me is most likely fitting in, or being me more. BUT now I've become me and I'm happy with that. My goal for 2018 is to find myself and grow up throughout the year, trying new things and working on new things. The welcome on the first day was OUTSTANDING. It was so nice to be welcomed in such a warm and happy way. Thank you so much for the opportunity to become a Year 9 student at HAGLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE 2018!

Anekin Monks

Kia ora. It has been so far so good. I'm enjoying Māori/English. The Mihi Whakatau was cool and it was good how the parents and staff joined in. I can’t wait to see what Year 9 has to offer with all of the cool people I will meet.

Luca Warnock

So far Hagley has been great. I have enjoyed PE the most and learning Māori. The hardest thing is probably trying to remember all the new Māori words that I am learning, and waking up early, also finding time to do homework. My goal this year is to make the basketball team and get good grades. I really like the fact that lunch is only one class after break and that we start at 10am on Wednesdays.

Kaitlyn Cogle

My time at Hagley so far has been full of different experiences. I feel like I have for sure picked the right school. Since there isn't a uniform I feel more comfortable here and more welcome and “at home”. My favourite subject is English, my least favourite is Social Sciences, but I still find that I'm learning more by the day. Hagley teaches in a way that everyone can enjoy; you can work in a book or on a computer. If you want to work with a partner then you can but if you want to work by yourself, that's fine too. My goal for the year is to finish my book I'm writing and try getting it published in the school library; that would be a dream come true. I have signed up for netball for summer sport and I have joined Creative Writing and Theatre Sports. I joined Creative Writing because my dream is to become an author. I joined Theatre Sports because I have a passion to entertain and perform, so I’d like to say that they all fit in with who I am and who I want to be. I'm happy with the people I have around me; they're all so friendly and care about me, and I'm grateful to also have close friends from my old school in my class, because having them here makes me more enthusiastic and more prepared to learn. I'm really excited to spend my teen years at this school.

Lexi Davenport

My time here at Hagley, so far, has been an amazing roller coaster. I love all the opportunities in sports, education and activities. One of the things I love most at Hagley is how welcoming everyone is. All students are treated equally. I enjoy doing Netball here. The team that I'm in is so kind and we work together very well! Everyone I've met and/or have been introduced to have been so open, and I'm good friends with them now. I love learning in all ways, and that's what I love about Hagley, the teachers are so good at teaching in all ways, they're so good at explaining and going into depth. I just appreciate the fact that even though most people have their own little friendship circle, they're still open to meeting new friends! This school isn't the type where you have a few friends and that's it! Like, "you can't leave your own group for another..." Here, everyone is friends regardless. That's probably one of my favourite parts about Hagley! I also love how there's no uniform and people can be who they want to be; their hair can be any colour, etc. I'm excited for the rest of the year as more opportunities open up for me to participate in.