For students stepping into South Side High School for the first time, Aug. 25 offered a chance to get the lay of the land before the halls filled with the bustle of a new school year.
With Principal Patrick Walsh and a team of student leaders welcoming them in the auditorium, incoming freshmen and new entrants began getting acquainted with the campus, their future classmates and their new surroundings. The orientation gave students an opportunity to hear from Walsh, some members of the faculty, and the student volunteers about life at South Side before the start of the school year.
The student leaders, wearing their distinctive red T-shirts, helped set the tone for the morning as they welcomed the newest members of the school community.
After the presentation, the student volunteers took the lead, guiding groups throughout the South Side campus. Students toured classrooms and other areas of the school, including the library, gymnasium and cafeteria, getting a firsthand look at the places they would soon be spending much of their time.
The tours also gave the incoming students an opportunity to become more comfortable navigating the high school and to ask questions along the way. For many of the freshmen and new entrants, the familiarization with the building offered a preview of what their daily routines would look like once classes began.
Schools throughout the Rockville Centre School District began the new school year last Tuesday. The orientation at South Side provided its newest students with an early introduction to the campus and the people who will help make it their school over the coming year.
