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Transition Guide

Toronto Catholic Secondary School

Summer Transition Program

The Toronto Catholic District School Board offers a summer established for students and parents. The program has
Transition Program to help students entering grade 9 and grown to include days where Guidance Counsellors are
high school for the first time. able to work on myBlueprint; Student Success teachers
work with students who are at risk of not making a smooth
Why A Transition Program?: transition; Chaplains have the opportunity to come in and
familiarize themselves with the students and vice versa.
• The transition from elementary to secondary is among
the most challenging periods of adolescence At the end of the program students feel more comfortable
with the idea of high school, they know what to expect,
• At this stage of their lives students are struggling to
they have met some of their teachers, and they have made
establish their identities, through interactions with
some friends along the way. The program also offers an
friends, at school, at home, and in the community
opportunity for the school community to plan effectively for
• Students entering high school need to feel and September. There is a lot that gets ironed out in the month
experience a sense of belonging of July, inclusive of having the appropriate supports in
• All secondary schools provide some type of orientation place for students when they arrive at school for their first
program for students and their parents to help students official day of high school.
make a smooth transition from Grade 8 to Grade 9
• There are 30 schools who offered the summer school
(Creating Pathways to Success 2013)
transition course (this is full participation of schools
• Each TCDSB secondary school is given the opportunity
receiving new grade 9 students
to enhance the program based on school culture
• 82% of the students who attended the summer
• It is a program which focuses on building community
school course report finding it helpful, helped make
(where students develop relationships with home school
their transition to high school smoother, gave them
staff and peers and become familiar with the
confidence and helped build relationships with other
environment)
students, staff and school administration
Over the years, the number of students has increased Most of our TCDSB secondary schools offer the
and presently, 30 schools are offering this program to our Summer Transition course for their registered students.
TCDSB students. It is specifically designed for students Students who have attended and been surveyed over
transitioning from elementary schools to secondary schools the years report finding it helpful, making their transition
and open to any TCDSB student. The students attend their to high school smoother. It gave them confidence,
home school and are taught by the staff of the school. This allowed them to build relationships with each other, as
ensures that the relationship between school and home is well as school staff and administration.

34 The Complete Picture … Your Child’s Future The Complete Picture … Your Child’s Future 35