New Students Welcomed to CAS
On Tuesday November 30, Community Arts and Sciences (CAS) students and teachers hosted the CAS Freshman Welcome Assembly in the Florence Schwimley Little Theater, an event that has become a tradition for the small school. The assembly is organized by the CAS Leadership class and is designed to welcome the freshman class as well as CAS newcomers in all four grades. Originally scheduled for several weeks earlier, the assembly was postponed because of circumstances surrounding the death of BHS freshman Malik Grayson.
As in past years, the event started off with a surprise party. The assembly opened with CAS lead teacher Phillip Halpern giving a lecture about “rules, regulations, procedures, expectations and desired outcomes.” As the freshmen prepared themselves for what seemed to be a boring speech, juniors and seniors in the upper balcony began to heckle Mr. Halpern. This was the cue for the Leadership students to take over the stage. Suddenly, the lights went out, balloons and glow sticks rained down on the freshmen, and a slide show of the freshmen and new CAS–mates appeared on the screen, kicking off the real assembly in style.
The assembly continued with student performances, including a rap by Eduardo Zazueta, a poem by Jackson Bigelow and dances by James Palmer, DeBorrah Willis and Gbari Gillian. Eduardo and DeBorrah returned to the stage to showcase their musical talents with a piano performance by Eddie and a vocal performance by DeBorrah.
Next up was the CAS sibling game. Five pairs of siblings were called up to the stage to answer trivia about each other; questions included their favorite food, favorite song and the details of their first kiss. After the sibling game CAS superlatives were announced, such as best couple, tallest person and best laugh. The assembly ended with all the CAS teachers introducing themselves and answering questions.
Overall, CAS Leadership did an excellent job organizing and facilitating the assembly. “It was well organized, well executed and we reached our objective to make CAS freshmen feel like they’re part of a bigger family,” commented Hasmig Minassian, a CAS history teacher who also teaches the Leadership class.
Leslie Gonzalez, a CAS junior and Leadership student, said, “I thought the assembly was a total success. I enjoyed sitting next to my CAS friends a lot.” Throughout the event, the junior CAS–mates were some of the most enthusiastic participants in the assembly. “It was a good reflection of the sense of community that exists and that we’re always trying to build in CAS. It was also a showcase of student talent and a chance for all grade levels to enjoy being together,” said Bill Pratt, a CAS history teacher.
The purpose of the annual event is to make the freshmen feel welcomed and safe in CAS, and this year’s assembly definitely fulfilled that goal. “I’m really proud to work in a program that counters a school culture of hazing freshmen, turns that culture around, and welcomes them into the community,” added Ms. Minassian. The event is designed to contrast with BHS traditions involving freshmen such as “Freshman Friday” and other unpleasant forms of hazing. Hopefully, this year’s freshman class came away from the assembly with a sense of welcome and belonging, in both CAS and Berkeley High as a whole.
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