The Future Spartan Orientation was an opportunity for the rising freshmen to tour West Springfield and to learn more about the place where they will go to school for the next four years.
First, the eighth graders from Irving or Lake Braddock were organized into small groups that were led by the leadership students. The tours officially began with a trip to the auditorium for a brief assembly, where the administration greeted the students. Several WS student groups then performed, including the dance team, the Madrigals, the Personality Show Choir, and the guitar program.
“After the assembly, I took my group to the main gym and the aux gym to learn about electives, clubs, and sports,” said junior Leslie Lermo. “We had to follow a time schedule throughout.”
Students from the leadership program conducted the tours and answered any questions the rising freshmen might have. Their job was to lead the way and provide insightful information to the eighth graders about the school.
“Our hope is that our future Spartans will feel a little bit more comfortable with the building and a little less overwhelmed about starting high school when they leave,” said leadership teacher Sam Donnelly Jonsson.
Although the eighth graders were able to see the entirety of the main building, the construction and Sparta posed some challenges, as it limited where the students could go.
“While [the leadership students] did not walk the eighth graders all the way out to Sparta for the tour, the groups walked outside and their guides pointed out where Sparta is,” said Jonsson.
At the conclusion of the tour, the rising freshmen had differing opinions and thoughts on WS. There were some who left unimpressed by the construction and the interior of the building.
“It was really messy, dark, and it seemed smaller than I thought” said rising freshman Ashley Petrus. “The temperatures inside were all over the place.”
Others expressed more enthusiasm for the school, but were wary about the amount of distance they would have to cover when walking from the trailers to the building. A common concern for the freshmen was that they would not be able to make it to class on time.
“I thought the school was awesome,” said rising freshman Isaac Geletaw. “But I’m also sad because it sounds like there’s going to be way more walking around to get to classes than at Irving.”
While the rainy weather that day could have dampened the students’ perceptions of the school, spirits remained high about the upcoming opportunities that they will experience in the next four years.
“I’m looking forward to meeting new people,” said Petrus. “Also, after the tour the school doesn’t seem as hard to navigate, and I’m definitely not as scared to go to [West Springfield] as I was before.”