Notre Dame seniors help freshmen adjust to high school

Notre Dame Regional High School is trying to squelch first-day fears by giving freshmen two days to get their bearings with the help of the seniors.

The seniors were there to help the freshmen with their locker combinations, get their textbooks and find their way around the school.

Freshman Luke Wedemeier was nervous Tuesday morning.

"I think everyone's nervous about becoming a freshman," he said.

Freshman Kaitlin Wibbenmeyer said she wasn't -- but that it's good to have a few days to get adjusted and not just be thrown right in.

Chemistry teacher Angela Schaefer said she thinks having a few unstructured days allows the freshmen get to know each other a little better and become more familiar with their surroundings.

"They don't have to worry about being embarrassed with the upperclassmen," she said.

The day started out with a welcome ceremony where school body president Robin Phelps told the freshmen about the landmarks around the school, Wedemeier said.

As for meeting new people, Wibbenmeyer said she knows a lot of the seniors already.

However, that wasn't the case for everyone. "I didn't really see any of the people I really knew from my old school," Wedemeier said. "I saw people that I didn't know and I introduced myself to them."

After the assembly the students had a condensed version of their day going through all eight periods in two hours, five minutes.

Then they either had lunch or got their textbooks.

Helping them with their textbooks is where the seniors came in.

Senior Jennifer Barrett helped Wibbenmeyer cover her textbooks with paper to reinforce the binding and keep them from getting scratched.

"It's different being the one to help instead of get helped, knowing how to do the locker when they don't," she said.

Chelsea Spaeth helped Wedemeier check out and cover his textbooks.

"It's important so they know at Notre Dame you get a sense of family coming here and to help them get introduced to all that we do and what we're about and it makes it feel more at ease," Spaeth said. "It's an easier transition to have people helping them."

Now the only thing Wedemeier said he is worried about is getting lost on the way to his classes.

He said he figured getting himself lost would happen at least once.

"After the first time I'll probably be embarrassed enough to get it right," he said.