Throughout the summer months, the Counselling Service continued to provide support to first and second year students. We also collaborated with Student Advisory Services in supporting prospective applicants with their choice of subjects.
As a new scholastic year looms, we are aware that many first years are anxious around the prospect of starting at a new school. Aiming to reach out and to welcome new students into the College, Ms Fleur Mifsud Bons and Ms Anna Borg Bartolo, the Counselling Services Professionals of the Junior College, offered a number of Transition Groups to those students who opted to attend. Ten groups were held with a maximum of ten students per group. These were interactive sessions in which the youths could introduce themselves, get to know each other and reflect on the new journey they are about to embark on. The students thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and they appreciated the space and opportunity to meet others like them and start new friendships. The students were then taken on a brief tour of the College to start familiarising them with the campus.
A number of themes emerged from these groups which could shed light on the mindset of these new students. They spoke about their excitement and what they are looking forward to, such as making new friends, finally studying subjects they chose themselves and becoming more independent. They also spoke of strengths they already have such as determination, being open to change, self discipline, courage, confidence and being sociable.
They also shared their concerns and fears around meeting new people, understanding their subjects, feeling overwhelmed and not good enough and whether they will feel accepted in our school community. They also identified strategies which can help them face this challenge successfully, such as staying positive, remembering that all the first years are in the same boat, staying true to one's self, joining groups with common interests, reaching out if in need of support and finding a balance between work and play.
We welcome these students and wish them a fruitful experience at our college.