Weston Ranch hosted its annual Shadow Day, and you may have wondered who the younger students in your class were. These were current eighth graders from surrounding middle schools invited to spend part of their day on our campus in the affectionately named “Shadow Day.”
“We wanted students just to see what a small portion of the day is, and they take a survey when they return to their school, and over 95% consistently say they feel better and prepared to come to high school,” said Mrs. Chavez.
Shadow Day is when the nearby middle schools George Y. Komure, August Knodt, and Great Valley, come to Weston Ranch High School to spend a day to see how it is in high school. The plan is to get the 8th graders acquainted with the school and its classes. The 8th graders came here at 8:30, attended a welcome meeting in the gym, and met their assigned guide. They then “shadow” their partner, go to first, second, and third periods and have lunch. Finally, the potential new Cougars take a short quiz about their experience.
“We started this program in 2016-2017 because we realized that incoming freshmen have never sat in a class for an hour and thirty minutes, always been walked to lunch and seated, and never had to get across a large campus in 6 minutes,” said Chavez.
There does come a certain amount of preparation for the high school students who will be spending their days with the 8th graders. The WRHS students assigned to leadership roles needed to be fully prepared.
“Our kids have a meeting with myself and Mr. Fast to discuss how the day will go, their expectations, and the expectations of the 8th graders,” said Chavez.
Alleviating the anxiety and stress of a new school, especially a high school, helps the potential new students see where they are going and what it could be like making this opportunity beneficial to both new students and teachers. The shadows get to see high school in action, so they have a positive experience and see what the next four years may have in store for each of them as they prepare to enter high school.
