Each year, Apollo High School’s Link Crew prepares to welcome incoming freshmen. This year was no different despite the unusual circumstances to the start of the school year. COVID-19 was not going to stop these students. The Link Crew is a group of upperclassmen who welcome and make freshmen feel more comfortable throughout their first year of high school. The national program by The Boomerang Project believes “students can help students succeed.”
“At Apollo we were able to purchase the official Virtual Link Crew curriculum,” says Link Crew advisor, Nick Ferguson, “which lets us train our Link Leaders virtually to prepare them for leading small group activities with our incoming ninth-graders.”
In a typical year, the Link Crew holds a pep rally in the gym just for freshmen to create the excitement of the first day of school. They like to show them school spirit! The crew also gives tours of the school and assists students getting to class. They help with lockers and lunchtime. Games are also a big part of the day to break the ice for freshmen to get to know one another.
Since the first day of school was virtual this year, it created challenges for the Link Crew. Instead of the normal in-person greeting and pep rally, each Link Crew member was given a small cohort of students. Each Link leader made a short video sharing advice to their given group.
Senior Ameena Eyo advised freshmen, “Don’t run in the hallway. There’s no need. You’ll get to class on time. Try to make new friends. Join activities. If you’ve never played a sport before, join one. It doesn’t even have to be a sport. There’s clubs and groups. Just get involved. Most importantly, be you.”
Being virtual didn’t stop the cohorts from icebreakers and games. They even created handshakes just for their groups to recognize each other when they would meet in-person or virtually in the future.
“I’m just really proud of what Apollo was able to put together under such unique circumstances,” smiles Ferguson. “The Link Leaders were super flexible, prepared and fulfilled all their duties perfectly.”
After the first day, Apollo freshmen know they have new acquaintances, a new mentor to lean on for questions and support, and feel better equipped to navigate high school.
View a recap video!
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