Written By: Ariel Connell, Staff Writer
WELCOME: Future bears visit Bear Country.
Every new experience is both exciting and scary. For the incoming freshmen of both Central and Gage middle schools, Poly students attempt to make this jump to high school a little less daunting of a process. To do this, Poly High hosts a field trip for these select middle school students dubbed “8th grade visitation.”
There were three parts of the day; depending on the rotations, students attend a pep rally, a ‘Club Rush,’ and an assembly in the Littleworth Theater. At the Pep Rally, students were introduced to many of our VAPA classes, such as Choir, Dance Collective, Marching Band, and Pep Squad. Choir chose to perform “Il Lampo,” as junior Leo Kretz reports, “We had been practicing that song for a while, but it was our first time performing it.”
After the pep rally, students were directed toward the Club Rush section of the 8th-grade visitation, where they were introduced to many of the clubs on campus. We had the opportunity to interview some of the Gage Middle School students on their transition to high school. Aubrey Connell (8) says, “I’m nervous to go to high school, but I have my friends so I’m happy.” We also asked her opinion on some of the clubs involved in the club showing. “I never knew there were so many clubs; honestly, I want to join all of them, but I know I sadly cannot.” Not only did our clubs participate, but so did some of our sports. Cross Country, Girls and Boys Lacrosse, Track and Field, and Girls Basketball showcased their sports. Nora Best, representing Girls Lacrosse, states, “We got many more people than we thought, which was exciting.” We hope that other clubs had a big turnout of freshmen signing up as well!
Finally, the third section of the field trip, the assembly in the theater. Inside the theater, our counselors explained the A-G requirements and how to sign up for freshman classes when the time came. It was a calm way to finish off the day for the freshman in the second rotation.
Hopefully, with this large turnout of freshmen who attended the field trip this year, we expect a lot of students to become more involved in Poly’s extracurricular activities. Although it was very cold for the Poly students participating, they kept up a happy face and a welcoming attitude towards the eighth graders. Of course, nobody could have participated in 8th grade visitation if not for the wonderful teachers who helped put on the field trips and the students who used their own class time to volunteer. We at Poly are fortunate to have such a wonderfully welcoming community and look forward to welcoming the class of 2029.