Many classrooms in Old Rochester Regional High School entertained groups of eighth grade students visiting from the adjoining junior high on Wednesday, November 23, which was also a half-day for them. The visit was scheduled so that the eight grade students, who will soon be facing the decision of which area high school or vocational school to attend, might get to see what the high school is like during school hours, as well as get to talk to current students and ask questions about activities, classes, and homework.
A week prior to the visit, Assistant-Principal Mr. Parker called the high school students who had volunteered with this year’s freshmen orientation down to his office for a quick meeting. Almost the entire group – minus a few students who couldn’t miss one or more of their classes to conduct the tours – agreed to act as tour guides for the eighth graders. Mr. Parker and Mr. Devoll were adamant that students could only participate in the tours if they did not have a test in the classes that they would be missing, and other than that, it was up to the students to decide whether it was worth the missed class or not (some students had quizzes or presentations that they couldn’t miss, either.)
The student tour guides met in the high school’s auditorium for 8:15 am so that Mr. Devoll could give everyone a briefing on the schedule for the event. Each tour, he explained, would last twenty minutes, and student tour guides could take their groups anywhere in the building that they deemed relevant to the eighth graders. He warned the tour guides that they only could go into classrooms that had open doors, since the teachers had been told that morning that if they didn’t want to be disturbed, they should keep their doors closed for the day. Mr. Devoll stressed that the tour guides do visit at least one classroom (and to not visit health teacher Mr. Jenkins and let him talk about the high school experience for all twenty minutes) and some of the more “remote” sections of the building, such as the television production room. Mr. Devoll told his tour guides that having television production was a big draw for some of the eighth grade students.
The students who had assembled to lead the tours broke up into groups of two or three, while a group of about seven students agreed to remain in the auditorium for a question and answer session with the eighth grade students. Mr. Devoll said that one of the eighth grade teams would go on tours while the other got to ask questions, and then the two would switch. Mr. Devoll facilitated the question and answer session, as well as counted off the eighth grade homerooms into smaller tour groups.
In the question and answer session, the questions mainly revolved around the length of classes, the amount of homework, and what a typical freshman schedule would look like. Mr. Devoll explained what the directed studies are like for students, and the question and answer panel attested that the workload is not unreasonable. When one eighth grade student asked if the honors classes involve more work, the panel chuckled and responded with a singular “YES!” while a few of the high school students added that it was doable, because “our teachers understand… they were kids once, too.” Mr. Devoll intercepted a question that one eighth grade student asked (which was about capping the amount of honors classes a student can take), saying that the school will never cap honors classes and that students are encouraged to sign up for what they think they can handle, and then cut back later if they need to do so. The eighth grade students were a little alarmed when they heard that the classes are 90 minutes long, compared to their rather short 45 minutes per class, but the panel unanimously agreed that the 90 minutes are necessary for the classes and not at all unbearable – plus, as one high school student pointed out, the directed studies are 90 minutes long as well. Most of the students on the panel said that they were able to do all of their homework during freshmen year in their studies.
Mr. Devoll put special emphasis on electives and school extra-curricular activities during the session, referring to both myself and a fellow senior, Ms. Nicole Pruchnik, for having used a school elective to explore potential careers. In my case, the English electives that I have taken have allowed me to pursue my interest in writing, and in Ms. Pruchnik’s case, her Sports Nutrition class and internship with the school’s athletic trainer have let her explore the field of sports medicine and training while simultaneously getting work experience for her résumé.
The eighth grade students were naturally curious about the high school’s drama club; luckily, one of the panel members was senior Mr. Kurt Correia, who has been involved with drama club for his whole high school experience and is also the drama club’s president. Mr. Correia told the eighth graders about the typical drama season – a fall play and a spring musical – and the variety of ways that students can be involved. Mr. Correia stressed that a student doesn’t have to be on stage in order to participate in the drama club, and spoke about the number of “techie” positions that are available, gesturing to the stage and other areas of the auditorium as he did so.
Shortly after 9:30 am, the eighth grade students had to return to their own school. Mr. Devoll thanked his student volunteers for their service and allowed them to sit in the auditorium until the bell rang. They attended the last two of their four classes that day (having missed two) and went home following the 11:30 am dismissal.
By Anne Smith