At the annual New Student Barbecue held Aug. 20, there were a few more burgers and hot dogs to dish out than usual. That’s because as the new school year approached, the number of new students planning to attend the gathering increased.

Last year, 60 students attended the barbecue while this year 100 students attended the gathering.

At the barbecue, students from all over the world gathered together and got acquainted with each other and the school. The goal of the barbecue was to allow the new students to feel comfortable and make friends with other students that are also new to the school before the school year even started.

“I thought that the barbecue went really well and I’m happy that I attended it because I was able to make new friends,”said sophomore Viet Huynh, who moved from Orange County. “The first day of school wasn’t as intimidating since I already knew other people.”

Head commissioners Lauren Kuan and David Chang had many icebreakers and games prepared for the event. The new students played games such as telephone, the human knot and the interview game–the most popular among the students, in which a group of students chose a student who would be interviewed and from hints from the other students, they would guess which celebrity they were chosen to be.

“I liked how we were split into smaller sub groups because we were able to actually get to know everybody and connect,” said sophomore Patrick Sobrak-Seaton, who has been home schooled his entire life.

Kuan and Chang organized the barbecue with the help of assistant principal Karen Hyde and took approximately a month to plan the entire event.

“The event was well organized and it allowed students adequate time to talk and meet everyone; you basically couldn’t help but have fun,” said Sobrak-Seaton.

Not only were there new students, but there were also current students and faculty present to lead the ice breakers and campus tours. Although the event went well, there was a problem that the commissioners ran into behind the scenes while planning the barbecue; they were unable to find someone to barbecue and principal Jeff Anderson had to step in at the last minute.

“I enjoyed how Anderson was barbecuing the food because it made everything more welcoming since faculty was also there at the gathering,” said freshman Nikki Bedekar, who previously attended Harker.

There was a variety of food served such as hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, fruit and desserts. Junior Angel Hernandez who moved from Morgan Hill said that the food was excellent and that the barbecue just seemed to bring people together.

All of the new students thought the barbecue was successful and helpful since they all have to adapt to a new school and do not know anyone else on campus.

“It was a really great event and the best thing was that it was low key so there was no pressure to talk to everyone,” said Sobrak-Seaton.

Everyone mingled with each other and no one was left out. The barbecue was a success overall and many students enjoyed the gathering.

“It was the best new student barbecue we had in memory,” said Hyde.” There was enough food, it was well organized, kids had a good time and even the kids who were reticent were involved.”