As each year begins, we welcome many new Year 12 & 13 students from throughout Ōtautahi to Te Puna Wai o Waipapa Hagley College. How can we best support their engagement and achievement?

This is an important question and one that we'll be exploring in-depth as a kāhui project. We do know that our new ākonga make the decision to move to our kura for a variety of reasons; it could be for a subject on offer, the chance to manage their time more flexibly, or simply for a change of environment. What we would like to know more about though, are their educational goals, and just as importantly, how we can ensure that they feel connected in their new place.

When students enrol in Years 12/13, they have access to a team of people who can support them in various ways. Their tutor teacher, Year Advisor, and the Deputy Principal of Student Wellbeing, are some of this key group. Melanie Rich and Jasmine Lambert, the Year Advisors of 12/13, and Rowan Milburn, DP Student Wellbeing, have been working together to develop a plan for improving the transition for our new Senior students.

Our next steps will involve speaking with ākonga, reviewing the enrolment process, and exploring different ways of setting and tracking student goals. We're looking forward to getting stuck into this project and making progress before our 2021 enrolments open.