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| Senior facilitators bonded with their freshman groups, creating team spirit during group tasks.
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In one of the longstanding traditions of Amityville Memorial High School, 25 upperclassmen, along with 12 adult facilitators, connected with the building's youngest students at the Fifth Annual Freshman Awareness Day. The senior volunteers facilitated the day's events, speaking to freshmen about making productive decisions, becoming active members of extracurricular activities, forming positive relationships with teachers, creating healthy friendships, and taking care of their academic duties in order to be successful students and members of society. "The seniors really stepped it up and did a tremendous job," stated teacher Jason McGowan, who coordinated the event along with colleague Stacy Murphy and other high school staff members who donated their time. "The students ran family groups, helped organize the activities, and spoke to the freshmen about what it takes to be a success in our building."
Freshman participants, 170 in total, were exposed to group activities that involved icebreaking and trust building, such as "Freshman Mummy Wrap" and "Cross the Line." Afterwards, students had the opportunity to process information from the student panel by engaging in "family-group" discussions and activities. The culminating exercise was "What's Your Secret?" After a day of personal revelations and honest talk, students were invited to anonymously contribute their "secret" to "Amity Secret," which is a compilation of the personal thoughts that the high school students hold.
Both seniors and freshmen benefited from the program and reflected on their experiences. Freshman Diamond Lewis shared his respect for the senior class. "I liked hearing the seniors speak because they were in our seats just four years ago, and now they are the leaders of the school." Senior Brian Ward, who volunteered his time and expertise, commented, "Being a facilitator and interacting with my family group reminded me of when I was a freshman looking up to my fellow facilitators."
Over the course of their freshman year, spurred by Freshman Awareness Day, students will cultivate respect, gain a better understanding of one another, and get to know their peers. The program will ultimately create a safer high school building that is more physically and emotionally stable.
