Notre Dame's traditional lock-in acclimates high school freshmen

It is a 17-year-old tradition that starts in June and ends the first Friday of school at Notre Dame Regional High School.

This year was the class of 2007's turn to plan the freshmen/senior lock-in. They planned the activities, games and the theme: "Nothing runs like a freshman, nothing's built like a senior." It all came together at 7 p.m. Friday when the freshmen arrived for the lock-in.

As their children headed for the cafeteria, the freshmen's parents had a frank discussion with senior parents. The talk included topics such as sexually transmitted diseases, alcohol abuse and drug abuse.

"The senior parents have the experience, they've been through that roller coaster of raising a teen," said parent Bekki Essner.

It's better to go in with your eyes open than to be surprised, Essner said. Above all else, do not be afraid to be the parent, she said.

"They've got 490 kids out here to be their friends, you're the only parent," Essner said. "Be the parent."

Brother David Migliorino said the three most important messages the senior parents had for the freshmen parents were communication, knowing who their child's friends are and picking your battles. Every parent added faith and prayer to the list, he said.

Two of Anne Obermark's children have already graduated from Notre Dame, and this year was her daughter Katie's turn to be a freshman.

Katie was nervous, she said.

"I think this kind of a gathering makes it so that all the freshmen can feel like they're part of the family," Obermark said.

Serious talk, fun games

A hush fell over the cafeteria when Brenda Bowman, injury prevention specialist and coordinator for Safe Kids at Southeast Missouri Hospital, played a video about drunken driving called "Every 15 Minutes Someone Dies From an Alcohol-related Collision." No one talked. Gasps were heard among murmurs of "that's horrible" and heads turned away from the gruesome depiction of what happens to a young man who was not wearing his seat belt in a head-on collision.

"It's all I can hope that I got through," Bowman said.

Outdoor games are a tradition at the lock-in, but this year the bad weather called for a change in plans. The freshmen stayed inside and played 45 minutes of "Brother Says," a variation of Simon Says.

"It was the longest 45 minutes of my life," Migliorino said.

Finally the lightning let up enough that the group was able to go outside and play "senior energizers" -- games the seniors wanted to play, such as truth or dare, pass the Life Saver, musical chairs and water games.

After a quick change of clothes, the students listened to a presentation from Sgt. Brad Lively with the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The presentation was titled "Stop The Knock," from the sad task of a state trooper who has to knock on the door to notify next of kin that their loved one just died as a result of a traffic accident.

After the presentation the students shared another 45 minutes of down time, spreading out many sleeping bags and blankets.

The next morning, after breakfast and a balloon release, the night that took three months of planning and four years to make was over.

It was the first of many bittersweet lasts for the Notre Dame class of 2007.

ameyer@semissourian.com

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