A natural nervousness surrounds any transition or change in the lives of our young people. The move from the Primary spaces at Twizel Area School (or another Primary School) and into the big world of the Middle and Senior Spaces can be confronting!

To ensure a smooth transition we aim, across the Middle School weeks, months and years, to:

• Provide opportunities for students to experience a sense of belonging and inclusion in school programmes and activities
• Ensure our highly skilled teachers understand your child’s interests, and recognise their strengths and areas in need of development
• Ensure students feel their culture is valued and acknowledged
• Offer opportunities to try out new interests and skills
• Help students make and reinforce progress academically
• Assist students to envision where their learning pathway leads into and beyond secondary school

Once the initial nerves have passed, they’ll rapidly feel settled into their new routines and be making and maintaining relationships with their teachers and peers.

We honour your child’s transition by creating a transition pathway that includes visits and opportunities for students to ask questions and participate in discussions with teachers. Student learning portfolios are transferred to their new teachers. In addition to this, we have created a general document to describe the A-Z of the school, this may help with parent questions and can be found here: A-Z Whānau Guide to Twizel Area School

Within the middle school classrooms we aim to provide a mix of teacher-directed and non-directed learning which reflects the progression from Primary to Middle School. The school day involves a mix of small group, individual and whole class learning opportunities. Students have more freedom to move around the school from class to class, but retain the security of the key homeroom teacher. At the core of all school learning is developing key competencies and honouring our school values.

We’re very much looking forward to welcoming our new students to the Middle School and wish them every success for their transition. Further documents attached to this transition pack give detail of contacts for any questions and queries. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have, or to arrange a meeting with the Middle School team, if necessary.