Providing a link to incoming freshmen at Kentlake High may be more important this year than ever before.
With the Kent Education Association’s strike keeping teachers and students out of the classroom, Kentlake’s Link Crew will be helping freshmen adjust to high school life once schools opens.
Frederike Dubeau, a senior at Kentlake who is in her second year as a Link Crew leader, said ninth graders got an initial taste at orientation.
“We came in two days before orientation,” Dubeau said. “We were trained on doing games and how to better the freshmen knowledge of Kentlake to make them more comfortable. We came for the whole day of orientation. We did the assembly and we did some games with them.”
Link Crew leaders were then paired up, Dubeau added, with nine students per group.
“Then we did name games so we could get to know each other better so they’d know someone older once they get to Kentlake,” she said.
Freshman orientation was more than a week ago, which is a lifetime for teens, so they’ll be able to look to Link Crew leaders for help.
Dubeau said it will be important for Link Crew to be available once school does start because the upperclassmen can keep the ninth graders connected to the school.
“All the school events are going to be so soon,” she said. “The Link Crew leaders are going to be there to tell them to go to games and to Falcon Night.”
Senior Bryan Cavenagh is excited about his second year as a Link Crew leader.
“I’m just looking forward to helping the freshmen out because it’s all new to them, this high school experience, and it can be a scary place if they don’t know what to expect,” Cavenagh said. “It’s a cool thing that freshmen get to know upperclassmen and get shown around Kentlake before school even starts.”
Cavenagh is also glad he’ll be able to provide that connection for ninth graders after the extension of summer break and the gap between orientation and the start of school.
“Because we had Link Crew orientation where we spent time with the freshmen, they felt connected,” he said. “It’s good for them to know some people going in. They know some of the upperclassmen so they should be all right.”
Cavenagh also knows from experience how tough it can be to transition into high school without that extra connection.
“When I was a freshman I didn’t get to go to Link Crew or orientation so I didn’t know anybody,” he said.
He was drawn to Link Crew, which members are nominated for by Kentlake teachers, because he is a self-described people person and “I thought it was just a cool thing.”
Dubeau said she was excited to be a part of Link Crew because she likes “being involved in school activities.”
“I like helping the other classes just to let them know to get involved because that’s what made my high school experience a lot more fun,” she said.
During orientation Cavenagh told the freshmen, “the high school experience is what they make of it They can choose to have a really good time, or they can choose to not have a good time and choose to get involved in the wrong things and high school could be a drag.”
He also reminded them, “time flies so they better take the opportunities they are given.”
Ultimately, Cavenagh hopes the freshman experience is made better by Link Crew.
“Link Crew can make Kentlake a better place because it shows that the upperclassmen are not just mean,” he said. “In some other schools there could be hazing, there could be upperclassmen shoving freshmen out of the way but, with Link Crew we show freshmen that they are part of the Kentlake family.”
