Year 7 Orientation Day

On Wednesday 2 December, our 2016 Year 7 Students attended their orientation day at Dominic College.

Students were greeted in the morning by Ms Gilligan and challenged to get out of their comfort zone, meet new people and explore new experiences. Mr Pritchard and Ms Gilligan conducted a role play helping students break down barriers and find common ground.

Over the day, students undertook four activities on a rotational basis. The activities included:

Physical Education

Ms Millikan took the students through a 5-minute fitness course, which incorporated activities that developed Power, Speed, Agility and Aerobic Endurance. Following this, students undertook a competitive, but fun game of Run the Gauntlet, a dodgeball game incorporating agility, coordination and speed.

Drama

In the new Oratory Space, Mr O’Brien challenged the students to undertake a number activities to explore movement and their creativity. Student involvement was impressive, with many students showing excellent drama skills.

Maths

Students undertook a 45-minute Maths Test. Organised and run by Mr Harris, this gave the Maths Department some indication of where this cohort are at with their Maths. The information gained through these tests will significantly help the Maths department look at the strengths and areas for improvement for these students.

Photography

Organised by Mrs Jeffery, the students got to work together in Pastoral Groups to take a number of photos with each other and others symbols around the school.

This was a great chance for students to meet the students they will spend the morning with for the next few years.

Buddies

Before Lunch, each new Year 7 student was paired up with a current Year 9 student from their Pastoral Group.

These students ran around the school and undertook a mini treasure hunt!

The purpose was to help the students feel comfortable in their surrounding and in particular have a ‘buddy.’

This person will be the ‘go-to’ person for them next year, helping them with their lockers, find their classrooms and make them feel comfortable.

This system has been incredibly successful in the past and following a shared lunch, it was great to see relationships and friendships being created.

Thanks to all the staff who helped out with the Orientation Day, in particular the House Coordinators and especially Mr Chris Wright for organising the day and the activities.

The staff were very impressed with the enthusiasm, compassion, behaviour and more importantly the interactions which happened between the students. We look forward to having these students in our 7-10 on a permanent basis in 2016.

Mr Aaron Davey - Coordinator of Pastoral Care 7-10