Our Year 9 students have been spending the last couple of weeks settling into life at Marlborough Girls' College.

The real focus for the students during these early weeks is to make connections with their peers and their teachers. During whānau class time students have been getting to know each other through activities designed and delivered by our wonderful STARs mentors. 

The STARs mentors are groups of Year 12 students who help students transition into college life. They spend period 3 every Wednesday with our Year 9 whānau classes and help them develop and foster positive relationships and also teach them about their wellbeing and hauora. 

So far this month the focus of the STARs programme has been to help students develop relationships with their mentors but also each other. Students have been developing their own whānau class contract that is linked to our school values of Manaakitanga, Kotahitanga and Whanaungatanga. This contract shapes the values of our whānau class and allows for a culture of inclusivity. 

STARs mentors have also been exploring what makes us all different and how difference and diversity should be accepted and celebrated. This week we also celebrated Valentine’s Day with a random act of kindness. Students each received a paper heart and wrote down on everyone's paper heart something they like about that person and what makes that person special. A lovely pick me up for many students. 

Year 9 students have settled in very well in the opening weeks of the year and we look forward to seeing them continue to foster positive relationships with each other and our wonderful staff as the term progresses.