For the Pupils
The move from primary school to secondary school can be an exciting, but occasionally worrying, time for children. Our task is to keep the feelings of excitement while removing the worry. To ensure that all of our Primary 7 pupils make a smooth transfer to Lourdes Secondary, we try to give them as much experience as possible in their new environment by:
• Arranging Induction Days, where the Primary 7 pupils spend 3 days at Lourdes Secondary. During that time, they are given a tour of the school, attend timetabled classes, have lunch, and meet their Pastoral Care teachers for the coming year.
• Visits by Pastoral Care staff and teaching staff to their Primary 7 class to speak to them about Lourdes Secondary.
In addition, the Head of S1 meets with Primary Head teachers on a regular basis to discuss matters affecting the school.
For the Parents
As well as preparing the pupils for secondary school, we feel that it is equally important to give Parents as much information as possible to help remove the feelings of concern that all experience. To do this we:
• Arrange Parents’ Meetings attended by the Head Teacher and the S1 Depute Head Teacher. The main aim of these meetings is to tell Parents of our plans for their children and to allow them to ask questions about Lourdes Secondary.
• Invite parents to an Open Day in Lourdes Secondary to allow them to see the school, and meet the Head Teacher and members of staff.
• Distribute all Parents Newsletters to Primary 6 and 7 parents, throughout the session. This allows parents to get the feel of events at Lourdes Secondary.