2022 wonderings .... What am I going to do differently this year to support my learners and whanau?

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After talks with our leadership team and fellow CoL colleagues, I have narrowed down my challenge of student learning for this year to this; 

How can I successfully engage and support our whanau and Year 8 learners in the transitioning into high school next year? 

At this point in time, there is no real transition program with local high schools and the only involvement we have with Tamaki College is through our Year 7/8 technology. We know that the first couple of weeks of any school year, particularly that in a new school has the potential to 'make or break' the experience. The end of the year is typically a manic rush in getting Year 8s enrolled at a high school. At school, we tend to talk to students about these conversations that they need to have with their whanau, or we play the waiting game to get them enrolled in a college. At the end of last year, I spent time with whanau online supporting them in a rushed enrollment - and it doesn't have to be like that. I want to be able to support whanau earlier in making these decisions, support our learners to be mentally prepared, organised, and ready for high school.
A few of my wonderings at the moment; How can I support the learning and engagement of our Year 8s who are going to Tamaki College next year, ensuring that they feel safe and confident to be able to make that transition over?
What is currently happening in other schools to support this transition?
What programs are there in place at local high schools to support the transition into their setting?
How can I start building a relationship with our whanau and local high school ensuring that our whanau feel safe and confident in their decision to send their child there? How can I work with current year 8s to support them in their final year of school here (academics, school engagement) to be able to successfully start in Year 9?

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