Freshman advisory has kicked off this school year for the class of 2029, and I think that most of the school would say that it has been successful so far! Thanks to freshman advisory the freshmen this year have been able to fully understand what it means to be a raider at Leonardtown high school thanks to our amazing teachers and upperclassmen mentors!
But what is freshman advisory? Freshman advisory is a school organization managed by Ms. Hager and Ms. John, however it is led by a team of student mentors. At the beginning of the school year freshman advisory utilizes the first 30 minutes of lunch to teach freshmen about Leonardtown high school and high school in general. The upperclassmen apply to become a mentor for the freshman. Freshman are split up alphabetically into classrooms with four to five upperclassmen along with a mentor teacher that simply offers up their room. Freshman advisory’s mission statement is “The LHS Freshman Academy Program provides each freshman with a supportive environment that helps ease their adjustment from middle to high school. The personal, social and academic growth of each freshman student is nurtured through an ongoing orientation that includes information about school policies, procedure and programs academic, social engagement and relationship building through upperclassmen mentors. “
How is freshman advisory going this year? It has been great so far! The mentors met with the freshmen every day for two weeks, and now they have progressed to only meeting on Monday’s now. So far this year the mentors have taught the freshman about organization tips, checking Schoology, class officers/elections, Homecoming, and many other things that are overall about Leonardtown. They also had rotating stations that they transitioned through throughout the week. The stations consisted of a campus tour, a club rush where freshmen can learn more about all of the clubs that are provided at Leonardtown, and competitive games in the bus loop that help build some team bonding skills. This year freshman advisory added a new element to transitioning freshmen to get ready for a whole hour of lunch! The freshmen are not used to this since they are transitioning up from middle school so it is very important that they are guided and make good choices for lunch. This year the mentors tried to push the freshman to have independence and find the list of activities/clubs and make plans independently. However the mentors were there to help if needed. So far this has been very beneficial, less students have been roaming the halls meaning that everyone is finding their own place to go. Freshman advisory has also been successful in that there was lots of interest and participation in the running for class officers. Overall freshman advisory is helping the class of 2029 make the most out of their high school experience!
Mr. Coombs the freshman assistant principal has been very helpful and involved throughout the process of freshman advisory. He helped out with the games in the bus loop by announcing and running some of the games. When interviewed he said that freshman advisory is going very well. He explained that the cafeteria has been well behaved which he thinks connects back to what the freshmen are learning through freshman advisory. Going off of that he also said he believes that this is the “best behaved group so far!” Overall Mr. Coombs thinks that freshman advisory is very important for freshman because they can form a bond with upperclassmen and actual students at the school, making freshman advisory a very special connection for freshman.
Freshman advisory has been a success so far this school year. Freshman advisory will continue to meet throughout the year. But I would say that the class of 2029 is set up for a great freshman year and a great overall high school experience!
