While the first day in a new school can cause some trepidation, older students and staff at Centre Wellington District High School attempted to take the edge off with a Grade 9 orientation day ahead of the big first day on Sept. 3.
Deirdre Lawlor, a CWDHS teacher and part of Team Link, explained the Aug. 29 event included student registrations and tours of the building to check out the classrooms.
Lawlor explained that at 10am, all the Grade 9 students entered the gym.
“There [was] lots of music, cheering, name tags and a big assembly to welcome them,” she said.
Students were then divided into smaller groups to take part in various activities.
Lawlor noted the school was also filled with Grade 11 students wearing black T-shirts. They are the Link Team members – senior mentors – who will help the Grade 9 students in various activities, Lawlor said.
“It kind of leads them into the idea of what high school is going to be like, challenges they may face and what CWDHS is all about – to make them feel more comfortable and welcome,” she explained. Lawlor said this marks the seventh year of the program locally.
“A lot of schools in the Upper Grand District School Board are doing this program. We were one of the first to start it and it’s been very, very successful.”
The initiative, she said, aims to help students with the transition.
“It’s a big transition going from Grade 8 to Grade 9, to a high school. This helps to build a sense of community,” she said. “It tells them CW is your school now and this is what the school is like; our values and the seniors here help to support that transition.”
Carly McFarlane, another CWDHS teacher and Link Team member, added the Grade 9 students were brought in on Aug. 29 through a mini-gauntlet of senior students welcoming them to the school.
Once settled in, McFarlane loosened the group up with ice-breaking activities.
Part of the assembly included building up the energy and introductions of the principal and vice-principal.
Lawlor said there will be a number of similar activities in the first semester to be supportive of first-time students.
