From Zoom to the classroom Fishers newcomers navigate brand-new surroundings Laura Masoni
Students gather for a Club Med call-out meeting on Aug 25. Club Med provides opportunities for students interested in medicine. Photo by Kyle Goodwin. he freshman class of 2025 “I think I knew that I would are beginning their high have more work, but especially school career like no other being online last year, I wasn’t class before them. As they take used to things being this intense,” one of the biggest leaps in their freshman Lola Kivett said. schooling career, their partially Although the workload might be virtual junior high experience has more intense than expected, the proved to be a weak foundation realities of high school have lived for some. up to some people’s ideas. “Switching from virtual to “My expectations of high in-class was a very tough time,” school were pretty similar to freshman Ucheoma Acholuna what it is actually like,” freshman said. “On top of that, I had to Aiden Weiss said. For Weiss, his deal with transitioning to being interpretation of the size of the a freshman. I see multiple people building remains unchanged even in the halls that I used to know though he often only resides in that are just so different from the same parts. when I last saw them, and paying With Fishers’ new motto attention in class was no easy feat of Rebuild, ReConnect, and either.” ReEngage, there are vast A 2004 study done by The opportunities for freshmen to National Research Council found get involved. Clubs are offered that the transition into high in almost every interest level, as school “is marked by increased well as opportunities for students disengagement and declining to create their own if they so motivation.” In addition to that, desire. Check out the Clubs & some students are struggling to Extracurricular Activities page on regain their stride after coming the Fishers website to learn more. from environments such as Zoom Having a sense of belonging calls and eLearning. and finding a group in a school
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of around 3,800 may prove challenging, but it is possible even when brand new to the building. “I have met so many new people, and I even reconnected with a lot of my old friends,” Acholuna said. In a 2018-19 National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) survey, it found that the number of students who felt a sense of belonging in middle school was 49 to 67%. However, that number fell to 40-56% in the high school levels. As freshmen make that move to high school, getting connected may help in times of confusion. A place to start could be wearing red on Fridays. “I see a lack of student involvement in wearing red on Fridays,” Weiss said. “There is maybe a quarter of people in my classes not wearing red on Fridays.” A small task could make all of the difference in a place of so many individuals. When working together to wear red, ReConnection may be more attainable than ever before.
Infographics created by Laura Masoni. Information from the Clubs and Extracurricular Activities page on the Fishers website.
September 2021
