How Well Does Uni High Look After its New Students
Written By Anonymous
How well does Uni High look after its new students?
My experience with being a new student starting at Uni High School (UHS) has been, quite frankly, concerning and thoroughly disappointing. I feel as though I have been thrown into a cage of lions unarmed, and expected to be capable of defending myself without getting injured. Alongside fighting lions, as I came late in the term, I feel like I am drowning in a fast-paced river, struggling to swim upstream to catch up on work. From day one, the school has barely made an effort to help me in the school environment, alongside classes, but this is not to say that the teachers and students haven’t. However, all experiences of coming here as a new student are unique and must be judged individually.
My experience of being introduced to UHS was extraordinarily negative in contrast to responses I have gathered from other students in similar circumstances as me, therefore I had to step back and look at the majority, whilst simultaneously considering the minority of those who, like me, have been overlooked and ignored by our school.
The one positive thing that I can genuinely thank UHS for is the students. In the beginning, I felt very welcomed and included, which made me feel more comfortable with being new in this huge school. As the weeks have progressed, however, I have felt gradually more excluded. My shiny new-kid exterior faded like the paint of the school’s disgusting, concerningly mouldy bathrooms. Nonetheless, I have been capable of making friends over the short period of time that I have been present at UHS. To be specific, I am just one example of the many students UHS has left behind.
However, not all new students have felt this. Actually, most students seemingly have had a great introduction. An example of this is Asher Forsyth, a student from Singapore who was moved up to Year 9 after 2 weeks of arriving at UHS, as the school believed he was too old for Year 8.
In an interview with Asher, he describes that when he first started at UHS he “felt that the school assisted him enough throughout the first term”. However, to this he adds, “I’m not complaining, however, I felt like I was treated as a critique and was helped greatly compared to the other new students who arrived at the same time.” His statement here brings forth the question of favouritism among new students - this will be addressed later within the article.
When asked about how the school has helped him begin his schooling at UHS, he said that they had “given him a very helpful orientation, which familiarised him with the schools’ campus, as well as having support on his first day at school from both teachers and students” and “had no issues making friends”. As UHS was Asher’s first Australian high school, he noticed some differences in culture, as “there was a lot more equality, a lot less conflict, and seemingly no spite between people,” giving him a good impression of Australian high schools. In contrast to his previous school, he felt that “opening up [was] a lot easier” and that he had better social experiences. Overall, Asher genuinely had a positive experience when starting at UHS, and a large majority of new students also had similar positive experiences to Asher, according to a survey conducted through Compass.
Concerning the statement Asher made on how the school took more time to help some new students more than others, it appears to be valid - this can be seen with my own experience of transferring to UHS, as well as a few others who felt that they were “only provided enough information to get by” and another student stated, “they only showed me to my first class and that was it.” That particular comment is extremely similar to my own experience, however, I was so lucky as to be shown to my locker as well.
If I am being perfectly honest, my experience of being a new student at Uni High feels quite isolated from the rest, with only a few others having similar experiences, which in its own way proves that UHS does in fact take care of the majority of its new students quite well. I just happened to be one of the unlucky few that wasn’t. I can definitely say that when I started writing this, I felt quite disappointed in the school's lack of effort in looking after me as a new student, and felt the need to find out whether I was the only one, or whether others felt the same. But now, I have come to realise that my introduction to the school was completely irrelevant. Although I struggled at first, I was still able to find my own place at UHS and gain my own confidence here, as well as learning the ins and outs of UHS with time. It all depends on one thing - meeting the right people. The students I’ve met and befriended at Uni High have made my negative experiences at the school feel insignificant over time and were the ones who truly welcomed me to UHS with open arms and a warm greeting.
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