The Transition
to High School


Helping Year 7 make a smooth start

Year 7 is structured in a way that helps each student transition seamlessly into their new environment.

In Year 7, students study Integrated Humanities (IHum). IHum includes Religious Education, English and Studies of Society and the Environment. Integrating these subjects offers a holistic approach to learning.

A significant benefit for students is that the transition into High School is made easier by reducing the number of teachers and subjects. Much like primary school, these classes are all held in the same room with the same teacher and the same group of students. Many of our IHum teachers have experience teaching at primary schools.

Several orientation days, classroom tasks, and a series of pastoral program activities at the beginning of the school year help our new Year 7 students get to know each other, their school, and their teachers.

Students often identify MacKillop's 'welcoming community' to be one of the College's main strengths, and we believe it is this atmosphere that helps students to acclimatise so well.

Year 7

The transition to Year 7 at MacKillop

Georgie, Year 7

"Before starting Year 7, I thought people would already have their own friendship groups, but I actually found that everyone wanted to meet new people, so I've made lots of new friends at MacKillop. I also expected that I’d get lost in between classes, but all the teachers helped us figure out where our classrooms were and how to move around the campus. So the transition to high school went pretty well! Now that I've been here for half a term, my favourite things about MacKillop are the teachers, meeting new people, and all the different subjects. My advice to new students is to not worry too much – everyone is in a similar situation and all the teachers are there to help."

Acknowledgement of Country

St Mary of the Cross MacKillop made the statement: “We are but travellers here, so while we are here we should do as much good as we can and live in peace with each other.”

With this in mind, the College respectfully acknowledges the Ngunnawal people who are the Traditional Custodians and First People of the land on which we gather each day. The College also pays its respects to the Elders past, present and emerging, and any other Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples living and working in the MacKillop community.

MacKillop crest

© 2022 St Mary MacKillop College, Canberra. All rights reserved.

ABN 80 979 302 259

Contact Us


Phone: 02 6209 0100
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

PO Box 1211
Tuggeranong ACT 2901