On Aug. 29, the high school welcomed the Class of 2021 with a special freshman orientation. Principal Carisa Burzynski, along with other member of the administration and faculty, offered a warm welcome to incoming students, as well as the Elwood Freshman Buddies, who volunteered to provide school tours to freshmen and answered any questions they had. 

In her welcome address, Ms. Burzynski encouraged students to view freshman year as a fresh start and to focus on doing their best.
 
“Work hard, and take advantage of all of the opportunities John Glenn high school provides,” she said. 

The district’s mission statement was read aloud by a freshman buddy, which encompassed a vision of providing excellent education and empowering and inspiring each and every student to succeed. To illustrate this “growth mindset,” Ms. Burzynski showed a video of a mother duck waiting patiently as her baby ducklings persevered to climb upstairs. 
           
“We all get to where we need to on our own time,” she said. “We need to root for each other!”  

Freshmen were then paired with their buddies, who gave ninth-graders a tour of the school.  

“I’m really glad I was elected to help with the orientation,” student Matt McDermot remarked. “It’s fun to help the new students find their way around a place I know so well.”

To conclude the orientation, freshmen received their school Chromebooks, an expansion of the initiative that first started at Elwood Middle School when the Class of 2021 entered sixth grade.