FAHS celebrates arrival of freshman class
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September 2, 2009 • Editor in Chief Tyler Jorstad
Filed under Local, News, Uncategorized
September 1st was the first day of school for many students across the country. At FAHS the day was dedicated solely to incoming freshmen.
FAHS administrators and the 60 hand-selected Link Leaders put on quite the show. To begin the day freshman gathered in the commons in anticipation of their first day. As the building filled, teachers and students formed a grand entrance at the doors of the gymnasium with buoyant dance tunes filled the air. The anticipation finally broke as the freshman busted through the “gauntlet” like a varsity football team.
“I think with the staff it was really positive for them to be in the gauntlet and to welcome all of the freshman,” Associate Principal Brent Torrenga said.
Once the bleachers filled, Torrenga began pumping up the crowd with action-packed ice breakers with astonishing success considering it was 8AM and his target audience was a group of teenagers.
After engaging the crowd, Principal Dr. Jeff Zaspel spoke to the newcomers about what it meant to be a student at FAHS. The three things he wants from his students are to have fun, to work to earn a diploma, and to practice respect along the way.
“Do this for yourself, because in four years you’re going to have to get a ticket to ride,” Zaspel said.
From then on it was all about freshman connecting with Link Leaders and their new school.
Link Leaders were hand-selected from an initial crop of 160 students. The 60 that were chosen represent the diverse culture at FAHS. These students gave up three days of their summer to make this program come together.
Seniors Makenzie Forester and Joe Athas kicked off the fun with a balloon relay where a team of boys and a team of girls ran up and gave the Link Leader of the opposite sex a hug, trying to pop the balloon in between them.
Everyone emptied the bleachers for the “bungee breaking” activity. The idea behind the activity was to get students not to cling to a certain friend or group of friends for the next four years. The philosophy revolves around the idea that with all of the sports, clubs, and other opportunities at FAHS, branching out and experiencing new things will make their journey much more engaging. Students were asked to join together and, one by one, “zipped” together to form giant chains. In a short period after the activity, hundreds of students began giving each other high fives and saying goofy things to each other like, “Where have you been all my life?”
The students then split up into over 20 groups and spent time in designated room to play games and to bond with their Link Leaders. The development of this type of relationship between older students and freshmen is intended to give the freshmen a person they can talk to. Each group also dressed up in outfits as they toured the school. As they circled the school, each group had to stop at pupil services to show off their costumes and scream the team chant they developed.
The day was topped off with a run-through of the normal school schedule, allowing freshmen to avoid confusion that may arise when the rest of the student body returns.
When asked if she was ready for the next day of classes after the day’s festivities, Freshman Tori Ehlers shyly said, “Yeah, it’s pretty easy.”
Based on participant responses, the program proved to be an exciting and warm way to kick off the next four years for these new students. The true test will be the first day of regular school, when the other 750 students begin their school year and the freshmen must fend for themselves.
I really think you all have done an awesome job with the website and the Link Crew story. I just wanted to say thank you for your coverage of this. Tyler Jorstad, you ROCK!
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Awesome job! It was so exciting to see the video coverage of this event and read the article in a timely fashion. I really wish I could still be in Signal this year with all these exciting changes!
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Those swords are from Shopko.
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I really think the Link Crew will help freshmen from this year, and for many years in the future. Being a freshmen myself, I really think the Link Crew was a really cool way to meet some upperclassmen, and be able to have a uneventful and easy transtition into the high school.
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Nice write up on the days activities.
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