September 20, 2010 — Welcome Day at Immaculate Heart High School is a day of celebration and festivity to officially welcome the freshman class to high school. Upper classmen sang a song adapted from Toy Story, “You’ve got a friend in us. We’re a family. There isn’t anything we wouldn’t do for you. We stick together and see it through.”
“I was completely blown away by Welcome Day,” Camille De La Rosa, a freshman at Immaculate Heart, said. “Within the first few minutes of the celebration, I felt welcomed and pumped up for high school. The upper classmen are really nice and I feel I can really depend on them for guidance. This event will be very memorable for me.”
Each grade level performed a skit, dance, and song to greet the freshmen and give them advice.
“When I was a freshman, I was scared and confused on what was going on but in the end, freshman year was really fun because the upperclassman were really welcoming and encouraging,” Carolyn Park, a sophomore at Immaculate Heart, said. She advised the new group of freshmen, “No matter what, do not procrastinate because you are only going to end up with a poor quality of work and also always try your best!”
Some freshmen said they felt more prepared for high school and formed a closer bond with their classmates and the older students.
“The upper classmen’s advice were very useful and I learned many things that will help me succeed in high school,” Heather Ogden, a freshman at Immaculate Heart, said. “I feel more welcome knowing that the older sisters are always there for you when you need assistance!”
In the first week of school, some ninth grade students said they were intimidated by the upper classmen and worried about the challenges they would have to face in high school. Welcome Day provided time for students to create a closer relationship with one another, get to know their school better, and become a true Immaculate Heart panda, the school mascot.
