On Saturday, August 31, new Bearcats hit campus. Fifty orientation leaders and nine orientation heads helped students move in and learn about school life.
Before new students arrived, orientation leaders engaged in leadership training, including an acting workshop with Ms. Sienna Brann, instructor in theatre, a workshop on diversity, equity, and inclusion with Mr. Daymy- en Layne, director of DEI, and general orientation with Ms. Maggie Crain, director of new student orientation.
Orientation leader Val Castro ’27 said, “The improvisation activities with Ms. Brann were helpful in breaking the awkwardness between the leaders and incoming students. This multifaceted orientation training allowed for a more holistic approach to connecting with the new community members.”
New students were divided among two postgraduate, three Upper Mid, four Lower Mid, and 15 Prep orientation groups. Each group was led by two or three orientation leaders. Orientation heads supervised groups and filmed content for the school’s social media. Orientation head Isaiah Stephens ’25 said, “Families want to see their children involved on campus from the start. They want to see that their child is safe and valued here. As an orientation leader, I have the opportunity to cultivate those feelings.”
Orientation groups participated in icebreakers including name games and “Two Truths and a Lie.”
Diana Kravchenko ’26, a new Upper Mid, said, “Orientation leaders were welcoming and the ice breakers made me feel included from the first minutes.”
In the afternoons, new students participated in arts and crafts, brain teasers, puzzles, painting, and hiking. Luis Guerra ’28 said, “The orientation system, with a wide variety of activities, has done a good job of tethering the class together. I made friends with people with whom I might not have connected otherwise.”
On Monday, September 2, programming concluded with a trivia contest in which orientation groups were pitted against one another to answer questions about the school’s history and culture. “I don’t think we could have had a warmer welcome for the new students,” Ms. Crain said.
