Freshmen are first in the back-to-school rush at Worthington City Schools, as both high schools let sophomores, juniors and seniors sleep in on the first day, Aug. 27, to reserve the day for ninth-graders.

Worthington Kilbourne

Principal Ed Dunaway will greet around 1,490 students Aug. 28 when all grades are in attendance.

The day before, though, is all freshmen, said Activities Director Ralph King.

"We start in the auditorium, when our student mentors introduce some of the major players or administrators in our building, then do a skit," he said. "Last year, the skit was 'a day in the life of a freshman.' The mentors are all juniors or seniors and each one will be responsible for six to eight freshmen for the first quarter to serve as role models and answer questions.

"After the skit, freshmen meet with their mentors in assigned rooms around the buildings, then go on tours of the high school or do ice-breaker activities together," he said.

King said freshmen will go through a modified version of their schedule, spending 15 minutes in each of their classes.

Lunch is a cookout in the high school stadium.

"We bring in school celebrities to flip burgers for lunch at the stadium, then freshmen meet with their mentors again in a question-and-answer session," he said.

As the day winds down, freshmen will find themselves in obscure corners of the high school in a scavenger hunt, King said.

"We send them to find things you might not notice at first glance, such as the stained-glass school coat of arms in the commons room, or the mural called the Wolves Den, or the greenhouse," he said.

A pep rally ends the first day, King said.

"We've had freshmen only on the first day for a long time, but three years ago, we shifted into more fun activities on that day," he said. "I think giving them older kids to hook up with and learn the ropes from is a good way to break them in to the routines of the high school."

King said parents are encouraged to come to the school at 7:30 p.m. that first day to meet teachers and administrators.

"Parents can come with or without their freshmen children and learn how the building operates, while the kids attend a dance," he said. "Traditionally, we have our WKHS news team show a video of the first day of school to the parents during that meeting."

New staff members this year are Jennifer Krieg, Joanna Stuberauch, Rosa Luna, Melissa Fisher-Rogers, Rebecca Watson, Andrea Gratz, Caitlin Lavelle, Libby Montgomery, Lori Povisil, Susan Churella, Darlene Frederick and Christine Maynard.

Thomas Worthington

Principal Jim Gaskill will greet 1,583 students this year, but 362 freshmen will be the only ones in attendance Aug. 27.

Gaskill said the day begins in the lobby as teachers and administrators greet them and lead them to the auditorium for an assembly.

"I talk to them very briefly at the beginning of the assembly, because no one wants to hear the principal talk for very long, about the structure of the day; then we'll bring in motivational speaker Harvey Alston," Gaskill said. "Harvey was with us last year and he is a very dynamic speaker with a good message for the kids."

After the assembly, students head off to spend 15 to 20 minutes in each of their classes in an abbreviated schedule, Gaskill said.

"We divide freshmen into five learning teams and they meet with their teachers and team, along with their mentors," he said. "We have 46 upperclassmen in our freshmen mentoring program, who volunteer to have a number of freshmen assigned to them."

Thomas has a scavenger hunt, too, but the prey is more personal.

"We send them off on a scavenger hunt to find people in different offices and classrooms so they can get to know the building better," Gaskill said. "Then at the end of the day, we have a pep assembly, with the band playing and cheer competitions."

Gaskill said returning students will see some changes.

"Our library looks totally different because we built three classrooms into it, along with storage for theater equipment," he said. "We also have a slightly different school schedule, where kids are dismissed five minutes earlier, at 3:05, instead of 3:10. We didn't lose any instructional time; we just reorganized our time."

Gaskill said he is looking forward to the beginning of the new alternative school -- the Business Entrepreneurship Academy -- opening at Thomas, and the continuation of a pre-engineering program that began last year.

New staff members at Thomas this year are Felicha Anders, Tanya Christensen, Craig Duplain, Lindsey Fencil, Scott Gordon, Julie King, Jerry Obney, Robin Sacher, Keri Simmons, Jennifer Stone, Trudy Tuttle, Jamie Valo, Julie York, Michelle Laird and Ann Zevallos.