It was 7:45 am and the first bus arrived with the new baby Eagles of South El Monte High School. 8th graders from surrounding middle schools visit high schools in the district that they will be attending in the upcoming year, our ASB hosted a great presentation and organized games as well as introducing all the clubs and sports that are available at our high school. The school provides lunch and we spend time and get to know all the incoming baby Eagles.

This year ASB partnered up with members from the link crew, supervised by Mr. Seymour, as they explained the freshmen mentoring program and tips on how to get involved and help from upperclassmen. Catherine Sanchez 20’, a member of the link crew says, “So basically link crew is a program run by Audrey Figueroa. It basically gives freshmen a guide to surviving high school by providing first-hand advice from groups of freshman mentors. I think it helps because the mentors have already gone through what the freshmen are going through so they can relate to them on some sort of level, and if a freshman is the oldest in their family, they in some way have an older sibling to get advice from.” Catherine went on to explain the process that took place during the visit between upperclassmen and 8th graders, “At the 8th grade visitation, we helped greet the 8th graders in the gym and we were assigned stations to either monitor or other people were given groups of 8th graders to take to each presentation, which ultimately helped the visitation run smoothly.”

Another cool rotation included club rush which was held in our cafeteria. Tables were put in a circle surrounding the room with every single club and sport at our high school with several posters and 1st place banners to attract the new Eagles and encourage them to sign up and join. They also received a well put together presentation in our remodeled library to inform the new kids about the student chrome books they would all receive as they start the new school year. Not only did the 8th graders experience their first taste of high school but they interacted with other kids from different middle schools as they got a feel for their new class of 2024. South El Monte High School held a fun and memorable experience that hopefully will prepare and get the new students excited for their upcoming high school journey.