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HELENSVALE State High School’s new multipurpose Year 7 building, Discovery Place, has been a double delight as the school welcomed more than 400 new Year 7 students, including nine sets of twins this year.
Shakira and Jesse Delvers, 12, said it was an exciting and comforting transition into high school.
“It was nerve-racking at first but Discovery Place is a welcoming and friendly environment and I have made lots of new friends who have been looking out for me,” Shakira said.
“One of the highlights for me in the first month has been joining the netball excellence program and meeting new friends.”
Jesse said he was excited about all the opportunities the school offered.
“I think the sports excellence program is great and there are lots of subjects to choose from, such as Japanese and industrial technology,’’ Jesse said.
Identical twins Snezana and Tatijana Velebit, 11, have enjoyed sharing their first week at high school.
“What I have enjoyed most about my first week at high school is meeting new friends and my teachers have been really nice and welcoming,” Snezana said.
Helensvale State High School executive principal Mark Blackshaw said the orientation program had helped the Year 7 students transition into high school.
“Our goal is to personalise learning to ensure every student feels connected and has a sense of belonging,’’ Mr Blackshaw said.
“This fits in with our One Student, One Community, Many Futures philosophy. A special thanks to our Year 11 and 12 mentors who have put in a tremendous effort over the past week to ensure our new students feel safe and comfortable in their new high school environment.”
St Hilda’s also welcomed 11 sets of twins into the junior school alone.
Some of the pairs are identical, such as Bonnie and Daisy Browning in Year 6.
The girls said they have had a funny time with some of the new teachers in the first few weeks, who thought they were seeing double.
Bonnie’s goal is to be a lawyer or an Olympic swimmer, while creative Daisy longs to be a “dancer, singer, actor”.
“Daisy has dimples, which is the only way the teachers can tell us apart,” Bonnie said.
Meanwhile, Tara and Nina Strangman, in Year 1, were born two minutes apart and said they loved sharing birthday parties.
“Tara wants to be an architect because she loves to design and I want to work in a cafe because I love hot chocolate,” Nina said.
However, Samah and Sarah Rao, in Year 5, definitely take out the award for being the tricksters of the group.
“I love to trick people and sometimes pretend I am Samah,” Sarah said.
Samah wants to be an astronaut while Sarah wants to be an astronomer.