Programs focus on helping the ‘new’ student

High School is a tough time for most students. More problems, schoolwork gets harder, tests and essays become more common, friendships change, and boom — you’re dropped into a new environment; a guppy in a swarm of larger fish leaving you to fend for yourself as you strive for success. Throw in being that “new kid in school” and things begin to feel all the more chaotic than ever.

However, there is help. Hewlett High School’s guidance department has begun a program designed for new students to help them settle into their new environment with as little stress as possible. The Pals Programs will have upper classmen assigned to mentor a new student, eating lunch together and helping to navigate the school’s hallways, and be a friend. Knowing at least one person helps make an imposing place feel more intimate.

The Guidance Department is also forming the first-ever “Freshman Focus,” specifically designed to help incoming freshman from Woodmere Middle School adjust to high school. Before next school year begins, all incoming freshmen are invited to walk through their schedule at Hewlett High, to learn where their classrooms are to hopefully avoid the anxiety of getting lost in the halls and having to ask the intimidating upper classmen how to get to English class. The new freshmen class will also have the opportunity to sit through 10 six-minute periods. Each period will focus on a different topic ranging from open campus to lockers to activities and clubs.

I was extremely nervous about attending the high school. Leaving Woodmere Middle School was like leaving my home; I was being dragged from my comfortable surroundings and placed somewhere brand-new and scary. If Freshman Focus existed in 2011, I would have most certainly felt more comfortable entering high school and would have realized a lot sooner that Hewlett High isn’t a scary place; but a place for you to experiment with different courses and course levels, try different clubs, and discover who you are and what your passions are.

That being said, I cannot even imagine what it’s like to enter not only a new school, but also a new community. No matter how old you are, it is never easy to attend a new school and make new friends, when everyone else already knows each other. Instantly, you’d just become “that new kid in the back of the classroom.”

The Pals Program creates an “instant friend,” helping the new student to grow more comfortable, get acquainted with their peers and gain their independence to the point where in two years they could become the mentor.