As the 2023-2024 school year comes to an end, the high school prepares to make way for the new freshman to join the roster. Different extracurricular classes have been making trips to the middle school in order to introduce the eighth graders to their quirks.

“First, and foremost – I want them to get excited about all of the opportunities that the high school has to offer,” Career Investigations teacher Darla Williams said. “Hearing the high school students talk about the programs helps them gain a perspective they wouldn’t have without the presentations. We want them to be involved in high school and have fun. Hearing it from the older grades makes it more real and helps them find classes based on their interests and goals.”

Whatever pathway the upcoming freshman choose to follow will definitely become a part of who they are, and who they will be. Each course offers a set of different experiences that will challenge you and help you develop life skills.

“Orchestra has helped me grow in so many areas, with my confidence and learning that practicing something difficult does actually help you improve that weak area,” sophomore Shelby Bailey said.

Those life skills will come in handy when relating valuable advice to the younger generation. The retelling of experiences in an extracurricular activity will play a key role in a student choosing their course in high school.

“I enjoy newspaper, so being able to talk to younger kids about it was fun,” junior Leslie Smith said. “Picking what you want to do during high school can be hard, but I hope us going to the middle school will help guide some of their decisions into joining staff for the 2024-25 school year.”

High school is the final step before starting adult life, so whatever pathway a student chooses will set up ground work for any future professions in the real world. Professions ranging from welding, to journalism, to law enforcement, to music, etc.

“Graduation is not the finish line, it’s the starting point. I want them to remember how quickly all of this is going to go by, so they can have fun, make memories and embrace every second of their journey,” Williams said. “But remember, when they graduate, they are going to make choices that will affect them for the rest of their life. I want them to be satisfied…and most of all, happy. Never forget how much all of their teachers have loved them and wish them the best.”