By Lyvia Yan, Centerspread Editor
As the school year comes to a close, rising freshmen anxiously fill through the doors to get their first look at high school. This year. move-up day featured guided tours of the science rooms, gyms, library and cafeteria. Guidance counselor Laureen McGloin organized the day with help from juniors Zach Kathol and Lauren Alexander, heads of STARS and LINKS, respectively.
“I think it’s really important because it helps facilitate a smooth transition between the middle schools and the high school. It’s the last time that we as a team are ever working with them while they’re in middle school,” Kathol said.
Aside from helping the rising students feel more comfortable coming to Conestoga in the fall, move-up day also gives them a sample of the next four years.
“It’s just a great opportunity for them to learn about what things make Conestoga so great. Ultimately, they’re not going to be able to fully be ready for high school in one day, but it definitely is a nice help,” Kathol said.
Although the transition to high school can be a daunting experience, the Peer Mediation team worked collaboratively to improve the day and help the students feel welcomed.
“We always want to improve every year and every day that we do move-up day by just always having positive attitudes. The energy that we bring to the kids is hard [to maintain] because we have a lot to deal with, but we always want to stress that everyone should be high energy because what you put in you get out,” Alexander said.
Looking back on her move-up day experience, Valley Forge Middle School eighth grader Jennifer Ealer thought the day was “a lot of fun.”
“It helped to see Conestoga before school started because I got to see many classrooms and the gyms, library and cafeteria. Now when I get to Conestoga, I won’t get lost easily,” Ealer said.
In the future, Peer Mediation hopes to continually improve move-up day.
“I think the day itself goes very smoothly. There weren’t any problems that we ran into, so I don’t think there’s anything that needs to be changed in that regard. We’ve definitely come up with things that we can do better next year and we’d like to see those changes being implemented,” Kathol said.
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Lyvia Yan can be reached at [email protected].
