In the first few weeks and months of high school, freshmen can often find themselves struggling to adjust to new routines, heavier workloads, and unfamiliar faces. The noisy halls, the size of the building and the rush between classes can feel overwhelming, but amid the chaos, school counselors are ready to help.
Along with the other staff in the guidance department, House 3 Guidance Counselor Angela Harrison and Director of School Counseling Kaitlin Burkhardt have been working to recognize freshmen and their concerns and build connections with them, all while providing these students with resources. One of these resources, which is making a return this year, is Freshmen Fridays, a program that offers guidance and reassurance to the new students.
“When you come in as a freshman, it’s so different in middle school,” Harrison said. “I think it’s really important for them to find their people and their resources at school, and their house office system really does a great job with that because they have a group of people that they can connect with.”
With those ideas in mind, Harrison wanted to create a “less scary” environment for these incoming students. This idea of giving them a way to engage with their house office and counselors, came from a district Harrison had worked at prior.
“We were having a hard time connecting with all the freshmen and it’s so important for them to feel connected to their house office. I feel like in the last couple of years we were lacking that support right from the get-go,” Harrison said. “We kind of had this conversation of, ‘how do we do this and how do we do it in a collective way?’”
After all of the planning came together, the school counseling department set for the Freshmen Fridays program to take place every Friday in October. Counselors will go into history classes and take their group of freshmen that belong to their house office on walks around the school, pointing out important places. There will also be time for conversations about how their house offices can aid them throughout their high school careers.
“Students will learn that their school counselors are here to support them in many ways, academically, socially, emotionally, and in planning for college and/or careers,” Burkhardt said, “Most importantly, we want every student to know that if they ever have an urgent concern, whether for themselves or someone else, they should visit their school counselor or house office for support. We’re here to help, and we want students to feel comfortable reaching out whenever they need it.”
Harrison wants to make sure that going to your house office is not viewed as “negative” by students. Instead, she wants them to know that they “can come in for whatever reason.”
“We had a group this morning and we talked about how we are always open if a student wants to have lunch in here or just sit and read a book,” Harrison said. “I already had one of those freshmen come in and say, ‘hey, can I have lunch [in here] today?’ I just think it’s really nice for them to feel that we want you to come here and it’s not just when you’re in trouble.”
Even if some freshmen do not want to come in for lunch or during a study, Harrison hopes that they “know that they have people that they can go to if they need it.” The more that the counselors see and hear from their students, the more that they can help them in the future, whether it is in school or with post-graduate plans.
“It’s beneficial for us too because then we know who’s doing what and we can congratulate people when they win a game or when somebody does really well in a play,” Harrison said. “It’s just nice for us all to know what’s going on in each other’s lives.”
While this may seem like a perfect time for freshmen to share their concerns, Harrison notes that many of them can be “intimidated” in this type of setting. To avoid the scariness of it all, the guidance department has put together a list of frequently asked questions or worries into a questionnaire for the freshmen to complete, and to give counselors an idea of what their groups may be wondering.
“Sometimes people are just like, ‘no, I’m good. I have an older sibling who’s introduced me to a lot of things’ or ‘I got connected in that way’ which is awesome,” Harrison said, “but sometimes they’re like, ‘yeah, please help’. When we’re sitting here, it’s kind of intimidating to ask [questions], so this gives people a good opportunity to ask without having to speak out loud.”
Freshmen Fridays is an opportunity for freshmen to get to know the school early on, hopefully creating a positive impact on the Class of 2029.
“Freshman year is such an important time, and we want every student to feel connected right from the start,” Burkhardt said. “We hope students get to know their school counselor and House Office, understand the support we can offer, and feel comfortable reaching out whenever they need. Our goal is for every student to start strong and feel like a proud part of Lancer Nation.”
