A line of incoming freshman students filled the cafeteria and spilled out into the courtyard at Santa Fe High School on the morning of Aug. 7.
The arriving students picked up their student IDs, checked out their schedules, talked with sponsors of school clubs, sports and other organizations to prepare for the school year beginning on Aug. 9—and many walked out with their own SFHS T-shirts.
After talking with a student from the SFHS Youth and Government club, incoming freshman student Kyrstin Quintana tells SFR she plans to get involved with Youth and Government as well as student council.
“I’m not really into sports, and I’m not into band either. I did band in sixth grade, and it didn’t click for me,” Quintana says, adding that she checked out the Youth and Government club booth because “I thought I’d fit in there, and it’d be better than doing sports…they said the Student Council plans dances, and I think that’d be pretty fun too.”
Quintana adds that she’s “a little nervous” about transitioning into high school, but says she feels more confident after finding out two of her high school teachers taught her when she attended Milagro Middle School.
Quintana’s grandmother Charlene Cisneros tells SFR that as a graduate from the SFHS Class of 1979, she’s “excited” for her granddaughter’s entry into high school.
“The school has changed so much, and I’m just hoping everything goes well this year—safe, no bullying or fighting. So far the teachers that I’ve met have been really good,” Cisneros says. “I think it’s going to be great for her.”
The open house event, named the “Freshman Jumpstart,” gives incoming freshmen the opportunity to get familiar with the campus and the services the school provides.
Capital High School will host its own freshman welcome event from 8:30 am until noon on Thursday, Aug. 8.
SFHS Community School Coordinator Tommy Rodriguez tells SFR that through the Community Schools program, the school engages students by starting programs that support students, including tutoring; dance and gardening clubs; English and computer skills classes for families; and connecting families to other community resources including the Santa Fe Food Depot, the district’s Adelante program for homeless students and other supports offered by Santa Fe’s CONNECT program.
“Let’s say your kid’s not coming to school, and it’s because your car broke down. It’s like, ‘Let’s help you get that car fixed so you can get your kids to school,’” Rodriguez says. “We try to remove any barriers from a kid being successful.”
Rodriguez adds that the Community Schools program is in “constant communication” with parents in both English and Spanish to make their services known to families at the school.
At the open house event, student clubs and organizations also promoted themselves and worked to recruit incoming freshmen, from the boys’ soccer team to the recently-created dance club, which coach Benigna Sánchez tells SFR was only established this summer.
Junior student Amelia Balwit tells SFR that her interest in politics drove her to join Youth and Government, and says she wants to encourage students who are “passionate about trying to make a difference in your community and passionate about learning how government works” to join the club this year as well.
Inside the cafeteria, teachers Kate Gomez and Lane Puckett promoted the esports (competitive gaming) team they coach by setting up a game of Mario Kart on a projector that students could play. Gomez tells SFR that the esports team members hope to make it to next year’s state competition, while Puckett notes that they’re hoping to expand the team this year.
Mariana Gonzales, a junior who attended the open house to recruit more students, tells SFR joining the team helped her adjust to the new school in her freshman year.
“I literally knew nobody coming into high school as a freshman. When I joined esports, I was finally able to find my family here,” Gonzales says. “These guys have been my first friends, and from there I made my home here at the school. We have a lot of fun.”
Anders Burkman, another junior on the team, says the esports team presents a lot of opportunities for scholarships, adding that he hopes to attend the University of Utah, which offers $2,000 scholarships for esports competitors.
“It’s really friendly; it’s a lot more chill than other sports while still being New Mexico Activities Association-sanctioned,” Burkman says.
Students aren’t the only ones encouraged to get involved in the school’s extracurriculars: SFHS teacher Lewis Delahunty worked at the event’s “parent engagement” booth, urging parents to get involved with after-school activities targeted toward SFHS parents. He collected more than two pages’ worth of parent contact information to receive communications for the program.
“If [parents] feel like they need support with anything with their student, we’ll try to get it,” Delahunty tells SFR. “Studies show that the more involved a parent is, the more successful the student will be in high school. It’s just a great way, also, for parents to get involved in their son or daughter’s learning.”