St. Martin prides itself on our sense of community. At St. Martin, Grade 8 transition planning is a priority in order to ensure incoming Grade 9's feel welcomed, informed, and connected to the school. We recognize the importance of making the transition to high school as smooth as possible. We also make sure that we have many resources available to assist in this transition in order to decrease anxiety and promote student success.
Here is a summary of the transition activities that are implemented at St. Martin Secondary School:
St. Martin School Website - students and parents encouraged to browse through the website for information on courses, programs, and school information.
Link Crew - Each incoming Grade 9 is 'buddied' with a Grade 11/12 Link Crew Leader and participates in various activities throughout the school year. This program enables incoming Grade 9 students to connect to someone in the school.
Grade 8 Orientation - In the spring, Grade 8 students pay a visit to St. Martin and given the chance to have a tour of different classrooms and meet teachers. Tours are led by St. Martin Link Crew.
Open House - Students and parents are encouraged to visit in the fall to have a tour of the school environment, meet and greet with teachers, ask questions about programs/courses and talk to current students about their experience at St. Martin
Guidance Presentations - During the fall, members from the St. Martin Guidance department visit each feeder school and present information on course offerings and the selection process.
Transition Meetings - In the spring, Grade 8 teachers meet with St. Martin Student Success, Guidance, and Academic Resource Teachers to discuss incoming Grade 9 students. These meetings enable St. Martin to accommodate the specific needs of students identified as 'at-risk' or those with an Individual Education Plan (IEP)
IPRC - throughout the Grade 8 year, IPRCs are held at the elementary school where the Academic Resource Department Head from St. Martin attends to gather information about the learning needs to incoming students with Individual Education Plans.
SST - the Student Success Teacher will create a list of 'at-risk' non-identified students (based on information from Transition meeting) that will be monitored and provided with one-to-one support.