New traditions blossoming at Rancho
Link Crew gets together to prepare to greet freshmen at the door.
Link Crew has introduced a new activity this year for the RCHS freshman. On Friday, Sept. 9 at 8:30 a.m. freshmen got together in the MPR to start Freshman Fridays. The event was put together by Link Crew to get more involved with their freshmen, and it will be a recurring event.
Freshman Friday is a new tradition the Rancho campus is attempting to implement. During previous years at Rancho, Link Crew leaders would come into freshman classes during SSR. This year it was taken away; however, Freshman Fridays was the solution to still offering the same level of support to freshmen.
Link Crew advisor Ms. Samantha Hudspeth said, “This is another opportunity just to bond with them but also help the freshman whether that be through tutoring or like helping them cope through stuff or having mental health stations.”
Assistant Principal of Achievement Mr. Jermey Hansen and Assistant Principal of Education Services Dr. Sherry Berwick approached Hudspeth with the idea which she was “eager to follow through” on. They hope to have this event every Friday, except for days with big school events.
For September, the events will be held every Friday morning before school. Although this excludes Sept. 23 because of the homecoming rally set for later that day.
Each Friday will have a different theme ranging from academics to team-building exercises.
During the week of Sept. 9, Link Crew set up tables with games and activities around the MPR. The games were centered around teamwork including “cup pong” and “around the world.”
Students spent the majority of the morning playing games and hanging out with friends. As this was the first time students participated in the event, there were a lot of mixed emotions.
Freshman Jason Portz said he was having a good time and even got to play a couple of games. Portz also said that despite having to be at school early for the event he fully enjoyed himself and would continue to participate on future occasions.
Link Crew students worked to ensure everyone was participating and having a good time. Link Crew leaders wandered to the event to get students more engaged. At game tables, Link Crew leaders were seen cheering on students as they played.
Link Crew leader Lilia D’Anna who was in charge of “cup pong” talked about how they were there to have fun.
When asked about the future of the event, D’Anna said, “I think we should do this as much as we can. It’s a really good way to know our freshmen and get them to know each other.”
This is the goal Hudspeth wanted to achieve. Hudspeth hopes the program can grow and that this event will become a tradition that all students and staff will know about.
“I really hope the freshman can find this as an outlet to help them succeed,” said Hudspeth.
Hudspeth said she even hopes to grow the program more by inviting different clubs on campus to speak to the students.
Kassidy Coleman is a senior at RCHS, and this is her first year in journalism. She is the Assistant Editor for the school newspaper, The Cat’s Eye. Her...
