Incoming freshmen get early start on ins and outs of being a high school student
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - Many students in the Washington Township High School Class of 2020 are getting an early start on learning the ins and outs of being a high school student in one of the largest districts in South Jersey. The WTHS guidance department is hosting its 15th annual Freshman Transition Camp this week. The camp began on Monday and runs through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day.
The Freshman Transition Camp began in 2002 under the direction of guidance counselors Judy Nelson, Jim DiGennaro and Andra Williams. That year, fewer than 50 rising freshmen took part in the program. On Monday, 340 students started the camp - well more than half the class - assisted by a few dozen upperclassmen serving as camp counselors.
"At the beginning, a lot of the students are reluctant to come and participate," counselor Karin Eckert-Carpenter said. "But the feedback we get from parents and students, by the end of the week, it's extremely positive. They become a lot more comfortable adjusting to this huge high school."
The program involves many activities, both in and out of the classroom. But no matter the locale, the focus is on showing the new high school students that, although WTHS is a huge building with nearly 3,000 students, the school can still provide a sense of community. The camp is centered on interaction and meeting new classmates, and there are just as many group icebreakers as there are classroom sessions on time management and studying habits. Tuesday even featured a scavenger hunt, taking the soon-to-be freshmen throughout the entire building.
"Socialization is a theme in most of the activities that we do," Eckert-Carpenter said. "It's all geared toward getting to know each other, so the transition to high school is a little easier when classes start."
The students also have the opportunity to register and pick up their laptop computers during the week as part of the high school's new one-to-one initiative that begins this fall. The freshmen will get to keep those laptops throughout their career at WTHS.
This item submitted Matthew Pesyna, Washington Township School District.