  |  |  |  |
| Written by Alice Knotts | |
| Friday, 17 September 2010 | |
 When the big day finally arrived, four hundred and twenty freshmen flooded the campus eager to experience Walla Walla High School’s Freshman Orientation made possible by GEAR UP dollars and leadership. The day began with an opening assembly lead by Mr. Shaw, English teacher and one of Wa-Hi’s Link Crew Coordinators. Mr. Shaw’s booming voice and naturally likable personality immediately grabbed the students’ attention as he welcomed the class of 2014, and initiated the day’s activities with some fun, interactive student games.  After the opening assembly, the freshmen were paired with their Link Crew Leaders who had the pleasure of dressing up with their freshmen in themed costumes and parading around campus. There were hard hats and party hats, umbrellas and caution tape, geeks and freaks, and even a few karate-chopping, black-belted ninjas. The campus was full of energy and laughter as each group took pride in their outfits—the more outlandish the better. The freshmen and their leaders wore their costumes throughout the day’s get-to-know-you games, informational sessions, and rambunctious activities creating an immediate sense of bonding among the members of each group.  By the time the freshmen entered the day’s closing ceremony, there was a distinct sense of community, comfort, and acceptance among the freshmen. Unsurprisingly this camaraderie made them all the more excitable and rowdy (in a good way) when Mr. Shaw began drawing student names to receive GEAR UP’s participation prizes. Of course, the excitement may also have had something to do with the fact the prizes were highly desirable: including gift certificates, backpacks, hoodies, and even two ipod nanos. To end the day Mr. Shaw left the freshmen with some food for thought: “A day is very much like a dollar,” he said pulling a dollar out of his pocket and holding it up for the kids to see. “You can spend it on something you need, you can invest it, or you can waste it.” Then, without any warning, he ripped the dollar into pieces and let them float carelessly to the floor. A small gasp, followed by a murmur of questions rippled through his now captivated audience. He waited until the comments began dying down, then pulled another bill from his pocket and held it up in the same way he had held the first bill just before he ripped it. “Now, take this twenty…”he began, but before he could say anymore the students broke out in earnest protest. The air filled with panicked grasps and shouts of “Nooooo!” and “Don’t do it!”. “You see, days are like dollars,” Mr. Shaw told the students still holding up the bill. “If you waste one day—skip school, don’t do your homework-’So what,’ you think, ‘It’s just one day.’ But, like dollars, your days add up one at a time, until you’ve wasted a week, a month, a whole year… “Your job,” he said, finally putting the twenty back in his pocket much to the relief of everyone in the room, “is to earn the investment of your days at school.” Before their final dismissal from orientation, Mr. Shaw asked the freshmen to do one last thing, to shout out if they were determined to graduate on time. The deafening roar of yah’s that ensued from the freshmen class made it evident the speech had clearly accomplished Mr. Shaw’s goal and had a definite impact on the students. | |
| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 21 September 2010 ) |
No comments:
Post a Comment