On a sunny Friday Aug. 24, nearly 300 Hillcrest High School freshmen celebrated the beginning of their high school careers at a block party on the Hillcrest football field.
Popsicles were served, music was played and students were encouraged to participate in a number of activities, like bounce houses, football games, volleyball matches, a selfie station and more. And everywhere were teachers, engaging in the fun right along with students.
“The purpose of today’s event is for our freshman academy teachers to get a chance to talk to their students and meet them outside of the classroom,” said Jaci Hill, coordinator of site interventions at Hillcrest. “It gives our teachers a chance to show our students that they care about them as people, not just as students in their class.”
Jaci Hill and freshman academy teachers planned the event for two weeks, making a strategic effort to take students out of class and into a neutral, fun environment. Each of their planned activities had an opportunity for teachers to engage with students casually and get to know students personally in activities they chose.
“My hope is that every kid feels like that they are known on a very personal basis by all their teachers and the other students on their team,” said Michael Brinkmeyer, freshman seminar teacher and academy team leader for the Blue team. “Events like this are really time not only to build the school community, but also the freshman academy. I’m already seeing kids I know who have met in classes who are on my team and they’re already hanging out and building friendships.
We want school to feel like family, and the freshman academy is just a structure to support building those relationships.”
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