Freshman Orientation: New Place, But with Familiar Faces

By Jillian Daley

Ninth-graders Adeline Walters and Claire Leder summed up the Freshman Orientation experience on the morning of the big day this past Tuesday at North Marion High School.

“I like it; it’s amazing,” Walters said, happily. “I was very, very nervous at first, but this is amazing. There are some cheesy parts; there are some funny parts, but I really like it. … seeing all my old friends in the gym.”

Leder agreed with the sentiment that re-joining the North Marion community after a summer away was wonderful and pushed away some of the first-day jitters. He said being here is different from a recent home-school experience, and he was glad to be back. Yet it will take some getting used to.

“It feels weird to be in high school and to be a freshman,” Leder said.

North Marion gave Walters, Leder, and all of the other freshmen a warm welcome during a brief assembly in the main gym. The Husky mascot (played by senior David Gabriel Herrera) added cheer. Meanwhile, older students handed out helpful guidance, breaking the crowd into groups to tell them tips about clubs, classes, and locker assignments. The older students were grouped by candy type (Jolly Ranchers, Laffy Taffy, Pixie Stix, Smarties, Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers), and were wearing matching colors, cut-outs of their candy, or candy wrapper head adornments.

Ninth-grader Lluvia Perez-Hidalgo enjoyed the festivities and the friendliness of the small-community atmosphere. The welcome meant a lot to Perez-Hidalgo after spending time at a larger high school.

“It was really big; I don’t like really big,” she said.

After the larger gathering, the older students guided the newcomers to different areas around the school, and one group remained in the main gym. A panel of older students included junior Becca Rand, senior Yadira Romero Navarro, sophomore Peter Crosby, sophomore Abbigail Akin, senior Esmerelda Pacheco Contreras, and junior Anahi Medina.

Romero Navarro led off the discussion with a description of the clubs, and each student shared some of their own experiences or offered a nugget of advice.

Akin noted that passing time is four minutes, so you can’t talk in the halls then, unless you want to be late for class.

Another tip came from Rand, who explained the power of participation: “The more involved you get in school, the easier it is.”

Pacheco Contreras’s advice included that students should feel free to try out new clubs and activities.

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “If you want to do something, just do your best and go for it. Have your best high-school time.”

For ninth-graders like Walters, Leder, and Perez-Hidalgo, it was already starting out pretty well with such a cheerful gathering full of current (and, hopefully, future) friends.

To share stories on the North Marion School District, email Communications Specialist Jillian Daley at jillian.daley@nmarion.k12.or.us.