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Alllie Choyce

Freshman Ellie Cannizzo guesses what animal is on the screen using hints her team gives her during a game up Heads Up. This is one of the many ice breakers the groups did through the day.

Freshmen eagles kick start their high school career Tuesday during Freshman Orientation. The incoming students go to school a day earlier than the upperclassmen to not only help them navigate through the school but to be introduced to the staff. The whole day was planned by Maize’s Peer Helpers.

Peer Helpers is a group of upperclassmen dedicated to assisting their peers in various ways. They themed the day after the television show ‘Survivor’. The helpers also came up with a series of activities to keep the freshmen entertained throughout the day.

“A lot of freshmen were involved with Freshman Orientation,” said Peer Helper, junior Jacob Schonhoff. “Most of the groups were very respectable.”

Freshman MyKaijhia Donahue said orientation was not what she expected.

“I thought we were just going to go over rules,” she said. “But we all got to play games and I thought that was pretty cool.”

Donahue said the day eased her nerves on not knowing where anything was and getting lost.

But she is not the only one who had anxiety about the first day. Freshman Anna Haas moved from the city of Gardner over the summer and was very nervous about making new friends.

“I feel like since we were in groups … I was able to talk to more people,” she said.

But unlike Donahue and Haas, freshman Aiden Leon said he did not really have any reservations about starting high school.

“[I’m excited for] the high school experience.” he said. “Everybody says high school’s so great; it’s the best four years of your life and I’m really looking forward to that.”

Leon said he’s learned a valuable lesson from his experiences during the orientation.

“[Today] taught me that high school is fun if you make it fun,” he said. “And If you get involved, it’ll be more fun.”

The freshmen are not the only ones who enjoyed the day, junior Miyah McGrown, a Peer Helper, said she really enjoyed helping her peers find their way around. She also enjoyed doing icebreakers with them because it was a lot of fun.

“The freshmen this year are really awesome,” she said. “I’m excited to see what they think of their high school experience. I really hope they just enjoy it.”