Link to success

By Misael Galdamez, Arts editor

Freshman after freshman walked in, and each was greeted by cheers.

It was that time of year.

It was Freshman Orientation, which was hosted by the Fountain Valley High School Link Crew.

“The expectation for Link Crew is that Link Leaders can make connections with the freshmen so they can easily transition into high school,” says Mr. Nelson, one of two Link Crew advisors.

At the end of the 07-08 school year, Link Crew leaders were chosen from many applicants. After two development days in May and two training days in August, the Link Crew learned how to engage the incoming freshmen and introduce them into high school.

“Given the responsibility, Link Leaders are given a chance to shine as the leaders of the school,” says Mrs. Henderson, the other Link Crew advisor.

On August 18^th, the Link Leaders arrived at FVHS at 7:00 AM and began preparing for the big day. They hung posters, blew balloons, and tried to make high school look as welcoming as possible for the freshmen.

As the class of 2012 walked through the gates of FVHS, the Link Leaders happily ushered them into the bowl. There, the freshmen played games that the Link Crew prepared in hopes of creating an aura of fun.

One such game was “balloon popping.”  Two teams of five freshmen were divided by gender and each person had to pop his or her balloon by hugging one of two designated Link Leaders.

After the introduction, the freshmen were separated into 40 groups, with two Link Leaders in charge. The groups entered their previously designated classrooms and engaged in more serious games. Each game taught a different lesson or paralleled to life in high school.

Afterwards, the groups wore homemade costumes hand-prepared by created by their Link Leaders.  

The day culminated with a tour to familiarize the freshmen to the campus.

“Orientation Day was okay,” says freshman Kelly Dang. “My Link Leaders were funny, but I thought some of their lines were corny. I still learned a lot and I\’m not so afraid of high school anymore.”