Speech

Who remembers their 1^st week of entering this high school?

Give me some emotions you felt.

Now put yourself in others shoes. Imagine what every junior high kid feels when they come into the high school. Being surrounded with a new environment, new teachers, kids who are twice your size. It’s stressful and frightening. So why not make the transition easier? Let’s make ways of welcoming them into the high school and allow them to feel comfortable. Here are a few ideas that I came up with. If you take a pass and meet a junior high kid, stop and introduce yourself. Ask them what activities they are involved in, or what classes they have. If they appear lost give them directions to the classroom. Now you may say even I don’t feel comfortable here or maybe you aren’t an outgoing person. But how many times do you wish someone had helped you or made your day just a little better. Imagine what it would do for someone else. How if you said, “I know it’s tough coming to a new school, I went through the same thing.” Would affect them. You could talk about the difficulties you went through. Just by saying hi would make a lasting impression. Another way to interact with younger kids is tutoring. Talk to the principal and start a group to tutor junior high kids. Now we all know it will take awhile and it will take hard work, but once there are active participants, it will be a great program. Every student may feel lost at times with homework and not understand what is being taught to them. Sometimes you learn things when they are taught a different way. There are many ways to make a difference and welcome a new student. I gave a few ideas, now the ideas need action. Anyone can sit and say they want to do something. But the people with character will accomplish the idea. Everyone in here has goals. Think of the goals you wrote down. If one of your goals is to become more outgoing or social, this is a way to achieve that goal. How can you become more involved with junior high kids? What can be done to make the transition from a new school easier? How can you make a difference?