Last Wednesday, we hosted the first of our Orientation Transition Days and warmly welcomed the new students who will be joining Years 1-6 in the Junior School and Year 7 in the Senior School in 2025. Over 150 families joined us for 'A Morning in Junior School' and 'A Day in Year 7', which, for many students, marked the beginning of their journey at Ivanhoe Girls’.

Throughout our lives, we face many transitions — starting school, navigating adolescence, entering tertiary education or the workforce, relocating, and starting families. Each of these milestones requires careful planning, preparation and an understanding of what lies ahead. For young people, one of the most significant transitions is moving from Primary to Secondary school. Transition days such as 'A Day in Year 7' offer our incoming students the valuable opportunity to start forging early connections with their peers, and start to familiarise themselves with our school environment. This, in turn, helps to foster a sense of belonging and connectedness, which is so vital to our students’ future happiness, academic success, and overall wellbeing.

During 'A Day in Year 7', our future students experienced their first taste of Senior School life, and had the opportunity to immerse themselves in a variety of engaging learning activities. They participated in Physical Education, Art and Science lessons, completed a wellbeing character strengths workshop, and enjoyed a BBQ lunch in the sunshine as a cohort.

In Physical Education, the students took part in dynamic games that encouraged physical activity, teamwork and collaboration while incorporating fundamental motor skills. In Art, students crafted ceramic fridge magnets inspired by Bruno Munari’s “face” pictures, experimenting with techniques like embossing, incising and carving to create mini abstracted self-portraits. Whilst in the Science lab, the students donned their lab coats and engaged in hands-on activities across various scientific disciplines; including making slime to understand the properties of solids and liquids in Chemistry, testing magnetic properties in Physics, and classifying animals in Biology. Additionally, during the character strengths workshop, which was led by Director of Student Wellbeing Ms Karlie Payne, students created beaded bracelets as a reminder of the strengths they will continue to nurture as they transition to Year 7 in 2025.

Whilst our new Year 7 students were immersing themselves into Senior School life on campus, our current Year 7 cohort embarked on a combined English and Chinese excursion into the city. They explored the rich history of early Chinese settlers and learnt about their valuable contributions to Melbourne’s diverse culture. Our Year 7s toured Chinatown, visited the Australia-Chinese History Museum, and participated in a Yong Chun Kungfu workshop led by Master Damian. They also enjoyed lunch at the Paramount Food Court, with some even treating themselves to bubble tea. It was a wonderful day filled with sunshine, fresh air and enriching experiences.

Thank you to all our wonderful staff members who contributed to making this year’s 'A Day in Year 7' such a memorable experience for all!

Dr Natalie Bunn
Director of Learning and Innovation