Freshman Experience
Jacob Cobb: Looking Back On My First Week At The Prep
Posted October 25th, 2016
Looking back on my first week at the Prep, I now realize how incredible it really was. In just five days, I made several new friends, met all of my teachers, and attended three school-wide events.
Overall my first week at the Prep was very enjoyable and fulfilling. Like most of my fellow classmates, my week began in the Spina Gym on Monday afternoon. When I first arrived in the gym, with the purpose of getting my picture taken, I realized just how big my class really was. Since I come from a small private school, 150 kids in one class seems like a lot. My graduating class at Woodland Country Day School only had ten people! After taking our pictures, we left the gym with our parents and went to the dining hall. Once in the dining hall, several people gave speeches and prayers. Among them was Father Reilly, the President of our school. Following this, the parents were asked to leave so that the orientation could begin. All throughout the night, we took part in an assortment of different activities and lectures. My favorite part about Monday night would have to be the time when we received letters from our parents. It was a very heartwarming moment that I will remember forever. As the night drew to a close, we were eventually asked to go to bed. In the morning after eating breakfast, we listened to several more speakers. From them we learned all about clubs, the dress code, and the honor code. Around 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday the twenty-four hour long freshman orientation drew to a close with our parents coming to pick us up.
The following morning we were once again back at the Prep, this time for the official first day of school. Around 8:00 a.m. we began the day with an event called the Brotherhood Ceremony. The purpose of the ceremony was to welcome all of the freshman into the Prep community and Hermit Brotherhood. One by one, the names of all the freshman students were called up to sign our names in the Book of Brotherhood and have the seniors help us put on our blazers. This ceremony carried a very special meaning for me and will be an incredible experience that I will always remember.