The outside of Spirito Hall buzzed with energy early Thursday morning as incoming freshmen gathered in anticipation for their orientation. Orientation is a day at the beginning of each school year, dedicated to acquainting new students with one another as well as giving them a glimpse of Foothill’s culture, teachers, and campus.

“I’m pretty nervous, but I’m glad to be here as opposed to the other high schools and I think it’ll be a good experience,” said freshman Nick Godinez. “I’m expecting nothing [in regards to orientation]. I’m just going to go with whatever happens.”  

Coincidentally, “just going” with “whatever happens” seemed to be the theme of the day.

Incoming students were given their name tags by FIRE crew members dressed in navy blue t-shirts (and in some cases adorned with caution tape), and ran under a tunnel made out of a green parachute and cheering teachers in order to take their seats in Spirito.

The ceremony then commenced with senior and FIRE crew member Ceejae Alfonso introducing a “really special guest,” health and P.E. teacher Anthony Unchango, the event’s M.C.

After saying a loud good morning to the class of 2018, he asked the crowd if anyone was wearing their “first day of school clothes.” He admitted to wearing a two-year-old t-shirt after listening to a few responses and then decided to, as he put it, “bedazzle it up.”

Unchango disappeared backstage, and then reappeared moments later, only this time he was sporting a glittering golden jacket covered in sparkly sequence as Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy” blared in the background.

The room erupted with cheers and laughs, and once Unchango had everyone’s attention, he proceeded with leading a few icebreakers to help the new students get to know each other.

Several back massages and popped balloons later, Unchango gave the freshmen some parting advice before they went to their separate FIRE classrooms.

“[Your high school career] is groundbreaking. Be yourself, make it great. […] You can make a difference and you will make a difference,” said Unchango. “Trust the process.”

In the past the event had been planned by FIRE (Foothill Intervention, Reinforcement, and Enrichment) coordinators Conni Carr and Anthony Villa, with Villa leading the assembly and icebreakers. However, due to Villa’s acceptance into Stanford University earlier this year, the task was given to Unchango.  

“It was a great honor when I was asked at the end of the school year last year. And then once it started to sink in, I started getting nervous and I wasn’t really sure what my role was,” said Unchango. “I think what really helped me better understand was three -two and a half weeks ago. I was able to see Mr. Villa on campus and he was super excited that I would be filling in for him and he had some great things to say. […] That conversation really, really helped me out.”

Despite having “big shoes to fill,” Unchango impressed both students and staff with his performance.

“He rocked it. He was great. He had the golden sparkly jacket, high energy, it was wonderful,” said Carr.

With “trusting the process” in mind, students made their way to their FIRE classrooms where juniors and seniors, who had trained during the summer to be FIRE crew members, led them in several more icebreakers, including:

• Life story
• Team juggling
• Name game
• 64 square

The games serve to help students connect with each other and get students out of their comfort zones.

“As Mr. Unchango kept on saying, it’s a process. Lot’s of times [the freshmen] don’t have fun at first, but then they sort of start getting into it and they start having fun,” said senior and FIRE leader Ben Limpich. “I do think it doesn’t work perfectly, but it certainly helps break the ice so that the kids can start to get to know each other more.”

The 64 squares game consisted of students finding their way through a path of 64 papers FIRE leaders placed on the ground and attempting to get to the end without stepping on a paper that would ‘kill them’ or force them to start over. The papers symbolized a river to cross (or street to cross without being hit by a bus depending on what FIRE leader each class had).

“For the [64 squares], it was about teamwork and kind of navigating through challenges and stepping on the right things to get across and our class totally got it and afterwards they were just really excited that they got across and worked together,” said senior and FIRE crew leader Susannah Chilton. “They completely got the message that you have to depend on your friends to fight through your challenges of high school.”

.     ………  ……

The freshmen were given their schedules after the activities came to a close and walked to their different classes, with the help of FIRE leaders. The class rotation gave students a chance to meet their teachers and familiarize themselves with the campus to avoid getting lost on the first day.

At the end of the day, the students gathered once again in Spirito Hall for Unchango’s closing address.  

“[Orientation serves] to give them a chance to get to know each other. Because we have so many students coming from the four different middle schools as well as home school and private schools,” said Carr.

By pushing students’ comfort zones, many freshmen end up making connections and friends, which is ultimately, the purpose of an interactive orientation.

“I made a lot of friends at Foothill today,” said freshman Ryan Gilchrist.

Storify Credit: Canela Lopez/The Foothill Dragon Press

Background Photo Credit: Josh Ren/The Foothill Dragon Press