On Aug. 14, the 305 students in the Class of 2019 gathered in the gym at 9 in the morning for a campus tour and lunch with their designated Link Leaders, the older mentors to incoming freshmen.  

Junior Shreya Ingle participated in orientation as a Link Crew Leader and said she noticed the event “took weight off [the freshmen’s] shoulders,” especially those who came from different schools.

“I remember it helped me a lot when I was a freshman,” Ingle said. “I didn’t come from Redwood [Middle School], either, so it was easy to relate to them and help them adjust.”

Forty-one of those at orientation were freshmen who had arrived from schools other than Redwood, including ones in China, India, Spain and Washington state. Though they were new, it wasn’t the first time they had seen Saratoga High.

The previous afternoon on Aug. 13, over two-thirds of the record 61 new students met each other for the first time at the New Student Barbeque, which the New Student Commission organized and attended. Hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon and cookies were served, and several games were played to create a welcoming atmosphere for the incoming students, many of whom had just moved to Saratoga a few days or weeks ago.

At the BBQ, the new students, who were in all grade levels, were introduced to new concepts, such as Homecoming, the campus and ASB.

Freshman Gaia Kakkar, who moved from Barcelona, Spain, found that both the barbeque and orientation helped her get a sense of how life would be at Saratoga High.

“I didn’t know anyone here so I loved how events were set up leading to school starting,” Kakkar said. “It was all very organized.”

Senior Jasmine Qin, who came to the school from Evergreen Valley High in San Jose, agreed that “[she] would have felt more lost on the first day without the BBQ.”

New Student head commissioner senior Felicia Hung called the barbeque a “huge success.”

“[The new students] were open and willing to meet whoever was there, whether it be Toga veterans or other new students,” Hung said. “They were interacting so nicely they ignored me when I told them to get food. Everyone participated in the games, and in simple words, it rocked.”