Freshmen Sound Off on Freshman First Day
Emotions ranged from boredom to excitement for the start of life at BHS
Every year, before the first day of school, incoming freshmen have the opportunity to explore and connect with their classmates before the chaos of a full building begins. They are welcomed at each entrance by staff and B1 leaders as they prepare for the next 4 years of their lives.
Their day began with Advisory, followed by a tour around BHS led by B1 Leaders. They then had a mock schedule where they visited their classrooms and were introduced to their teachers and peers. To close out their morning, they went to the main gym for an assembly and games to connect with their new classmates.
B1 Leaders are a select group of upperclassmen who have been chosen to ensure Freshmen feel welcome on the first day based on their own embodiment of the Four Core Values at BHS: Kind, Proud, Driven, Leaders. B1 Leaders assisted Freshmen in finding their classes and answered any questions they had. Some B1 Leaders volunteered to stay for lunch to ensure no Freshman sat alone. B1 Leaders will continue to support the Freshmen in their assigned advisories throughout the rest of the school year.
“Our expectations were to help with any questions they[new Freshmen] had and make them feel welcome,” B1 Leader, Claudia Hourscht ‘27, said. “From my perspective, the Freshmen were definitely nervous, but they didn’t want to show it. We [B1 Leaders] had to make sure we asked them if they needed help because not very many of them came up to us and asked; they wanted to figure it out on their own. I think the day was useful for them because there are so many teachers and kids that go here every day.”
Overall, students seemed to enjoy Freshmen First Day. Students agreed they felt more secured and less stressed having a day to themselves, and felt more welcomed being introduced by upperclassmen rather than staff.
“I wasn’t as nervous because we had the first day,” Maryam Sonbol ‘29, said. “I was not excited because I thought it was going to be like W.E.B in 6th grade. I liked it, except some teachers already started handing out work. The tours were definitely useful, so I knew where I was going. The rock, paper, scissors was kind of dumb. Our B1 Leader didn’t go off the map, but she gave us a good tour.”
“The day went as expected,” Bennet Smiglewski ‘29, said. “I’m excited for Mr. McCallum’s class. I was really happy after the first day because all my teachers were decent. The day was really useful, but I’m still figuring things out. Specifically, when I’m going to my locker, I always go to the wrong section. Everything was useful, but the tour could have been shorter.”
For others, this day didn’t feel necessary. Many students agreed that they didn’t feel the need to play the games.
“I found all my classes at open house, so I was oddly calm,” Evelyn Peterson ‘29 said. “It was incredibly boring. The whole first week was really boring. Advisory was kind of boring, I would have rather spent more time doing little mock schedules.”
Freshmen are excited to start the year off strong with the support of the B1 leaders and administrators.
