Freshman Connection 2016
This year’s Freshman Connection was a great success. We had 60 incoming freshman from a wide variety of elementary schools attend this year. In addition to our 60 incoming freshmen, we had about 10 sophomore student leaders. Our sophomores assisted with facilitating games, leading activities, and participated on a panel answering the questions of our incoming freshmen about high school.
Throughout the week, students participated in a variety of activities, games, lessons, and fieldtrips focusing on social skills, teambuilding, and academics. We conducted activities to address any concerns or anxiety about entering high school. Students were provided with a Freshman Connection folder that they used to organize any papers they collected throughout the week, already practicing skills necessary for success in high school. Staff wanted all incoming freshman to feel excited about high school, welcome and comfortable in the Clemente building by the end of the week.
Monday kicked off with team building activities where the students were able to meet and get to know each other. Dr. Marcey Sorensen, our principal, came to welcome our new students, give a brief overview of the mission and vision of Clemente, and answer any questions. The day closed with last year’s school-wide Clemente Wildcat video, showing our incoming freshmen what Clemente is all about. On Tuesday, the students went to the Art Institute. At the Art Institute, students were charged with finding examples of art that reflect the IB Learner Profile traits and justify why they chose that particular piece of art for that Learner Profile Trait. Wednesday continued with team building as well as “tastes” of various classes. We hosted Math, Social Science, and English classes complete with learning objectives and homework assignments. Thursday included a tour of the building, covering the north and south wings. Student leaders showed our incoming freshmen places in the building they will go on a daily basis. They also highlighted the Allied Health, Culinary Arts, Broadcast Technology, and JROTC classrooms. On Friday, amongst other activities, students wrote letters to incoming freshmen who did not attend Freshman Connection. In their letters, they included tips about freshman year, information regarding the school building as well as the classes they will be taking, and other pertinent information they learned this week.
A few highlights from their letters…
“One of the things you will hear most is that impossible is not going to be part of your vocabulary.” – Giselle
“Let me just say on the first day you’re a turtle in a shell but as we participate in activities we tend to come out of that shell. The teachers listen to what you have to say and really care about our future and will help you with this. Always learn to come out of your shell.” – Sara
“Being at Clemente was amazing. It was like being a part of a big family.” – Je’nae
Clemente staff is extremely excited to start School Year 16-17 with the Class of 2020. We are thrilled about our incoming freshman. They are a smart, fun, creative, and energetic group of students and will contribute positively to our Clemente family. We look forward to seeing our entire class of incoming freshman at Orientation in late August!
Thank you for a great week!