Jamestown High School incoming freshman Kyle Falkowski works on The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook by Sean Covey, during one of the JHS Freshman Orientations held this summer.

Entering high school can be an intimidating time for freshmen, but Jamestown High School helped take some of the worry out of students’ minds by offering four, three-day orientations so that students could become acclimated to their new school.

“We offer a freshmen orientation every year, but this year we decided to do something different so as to keep the numbers of students limited due to COVID-19. By having multiple opportunities for our freshmen, and also including our incoming 10th graders who were on remote learning, we were able to show students daily JHS life,” said Principal Dana Williams.

JHS wanted to help incoming students feel more at ease, be equipped with resources going into the new school year, and have the chance to build relationships with adults at the school to help them transition to high school.

Students were introduced to habits that will make them successful in high school including: being proactive, keeping the end in mind, putting things first, setting goals, and looking at being a victim vs. a creator through the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook by Sean Covey. Students also completed a school tour though a creative scavenger hunt, tried Battle of the Classes activities, learned more about all of the extracurricular activities available at JHS, and the met the Jamestown Police Department’s Comfort Dog, Hope, and her handler, Officer Ward, who will make regular visits to the school.

“It was so important to have this transition from middle school to high school,” said JHS teacher Sheila McIntyre, who along with fellow teacher, Charlie McKenna, ran the Freshmen Orientation. “Students often are intimidated coming into a big building and this program helped to connect them to adults and empower them to overcome their fears. Having knowledge of what is involved in going to high school before it starts helps them be less anxious come September.”