Large freshman class presents challenges

As the crowd of nervous freshmen started walking into the Large Gym for the first rally of the year, it was apparent that they wouldn’t fit within their designated  space. The stands  filled up quickly, and soon they were spilling into the sophomores’ side. It was exciting for them, yet slightly intimidating for the other classes to see a sea of green shirts take up two-thirds of their side of the gym.

In many years, the typical class consists of just over 300 freshmen, and that was the number the administration had in mind for the Class of 2020.

“Based on the numbers we were expecting from Redwood [Middle School], we thought there would be about 320 incoming freshmen,” principal Paul Robinson said.

However when the school year started, there were “an additional 40 plus students who came in from private schools and new families in the area that no one predicted,” Robinson said.

The unexpectedly large influx of freshmen caused a few challenges for the school in terms of class arrangements. In particular, the school chose to add a section of biology to reduce class sizes.

The new biology class is now taught by AP Biology teacher Cheryl Lenz.

“I only learned two days ahead that I was teaching the class,” Lenz said. “However, I have taught this class before, so it isn’t totally brand new, and the office was able to get all the kids to class on the first day, so it was manageable.”

The other biology classes had over 30 students before this reassignment, so this change allows students “to stay on track and work in smaller class sizes,” Robinson said.

In addition to classes filling up, the lunch lines have grown longer especially compared to the past few years. Due to the unexpectedly large freshmen class, the cafeteria has had to order more food, said Pam Carlino, the manager of the cafeteria.

However, the cafeteria staff is prepared, as they have experienced this influx before and always anticipate more students coming in at the beginning of the year.

For their part, the freshmen have been busy making the transition to the larger campus.

“I feel like the people at this school have tried really hard to welcome us and help us get used to the new environment,” freshman Gillian Koerber said. “It’s been a really easy transition, and I’m excited for this year.”