Authored by Mr Nick Hackett – Head of Senior School

Starting Senior School is a significant milestone, bringing new routines, subjects and responsibilities. While this transition may seem overwhelming, it is important to remember that every Year 7 student is navigating the same experience. By maintaining a positive mindset and adopting a few key strategies, you will quickly find your rhythm. Here are five tips to help you settle in and thrive at Illawarra Grammar.

1. Be a Friend to Find a Friend

Starting a new school can be a daunting experience for any student but starting senior school in Year 7 is a unique shared experience. Whilst everything is new to you, your timetable seems complicated and the people around you seem much bigger than they were at Junior School, the fact is that every student in your year is having the same experience. One of the things you can do to make friends quickly is to look for ways to show kindness to your new classmates: If they’re looking lost, see if you can help them find where to go, if they’re sitting on their own, go over and start a conversation about how their day is going, and if they’re using the locker above yours, make the effort to ask them their name and to introduce yourself. You’ll be surprised at how quickly you will make good friends by being kind to the people around you.

2. Use Your Diary Every Day

There’s no getting away from it – Senior School is busy! Whether its signing up for cocurricular activities, taking part in sports or managing homework tasks and deadlines you’re going to need to keep track of a lot of information and your Student Diary is going to help you immensely. Not only is it a great place to record events, to make a to-do list for the following week or to make a note of important information about your year group or classes but it is also packed with of a wealth of useful information such as a map of the School, term dates, uniform guidelines, policies and more.

3. Get Involved

One of the things our older students say to our younger students every year is to take advantage of as many opportunities as possible. You will find that almost from day one of Year 7 at Illawarra Grammar you will hear about all sorts of activities – from debating competitions, to sporting opportunities, chess club to before-school surfing. As a new student, it might take you a little time to come to terms with what you want to spend your time doing…but don’t wait too long! The more you say ‘yes’ to the opportunities before you, the more you will find yourself building strong relationships with not only the students in your year, but students in other years who share the same passions and interests as you.

4. Buy a Reliable Watch

At Illawarra Grammar, we like to be very prompt. That means that when the bell goes at the end of Recess or Lunch, lessons are ready to start! As a School, we do not permit students to wear a smartwatch or to have a mobile phone on their person (although these items can be brought to School and left securely in your locker). This helps to ensure that our focus remains on the friends and teachers around us, and full attention is given to the learning that is taking place in classrooms throughout the day. To help ensure you are always prompt to lessons, Mentor, Year Meetings, Assembly, Chapel (and much more besides) it’s a really good idea to invest in a reliable watch that will help you keep track of time throughout the day and to ensure you are punctual.

5. Develop Good Habits

Another good way to make the best possible start to Senior School life is to be organised. Your School Diary is going to be very helpful to you in that regard, but another good strategy is to develop good habits. For instance:

• Every day, when you get home after School, check your diary to make sure you are on top of your deadlines and know what tasks you might need to attend to during the course of the evening
• Make sure you hang your uniform up each evening to keep it looking smart throughout the term
• Keep a tidy desk and bedroom so that you can complete homework tasks properly and to a standard you can be proud of
• Write reminders to yourself in your Diary (e.g. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, particularly in Winter) you will want your blazer for Assembly and Chapel
• Don’t leave tasks until the night before they are due. Try to organise your time so that you attend to tasks in a way that allows you to spend the right amount of time, and with the least amount of worry. Leaving tasks until the night before they are due is never a good plan!

By developing these habits now, you’ll set yourself up for success—not just in Year 7, but for the years ahead.