NHS’ Partnership with the Incoming Freshman

National Honor Society (NHS) is partnering with the new incoming freshman of 2023 to help them learn and prepare for their high school years at Fair Grove.

Amy Johnson, the sponsor of NHS, explained, “We are trying to develop a mentor program for incoming Freshmen to help prepare them for HS and aid them throughout the year. We want to create opportunities for them to learn how to study, take notes and keep up with assignments.” Helping the new freshman figure out how to navigate high school will make their transition easier from middle school.

There were many reasons to create such a program for the students. Johnson explained, “I wanted to start focusing on the school for our community service programs. Many students do not have too much extra time to go to Springfield to volunteer – so this gives them a chance to help out closer to home. Once the program gets going students that were Freshmen at one time will get to be on the other side of the mentorship.”

Transitioning between schools can be extremely stressful for most students. To help reduce that stress, NHS will be walking the freshmen through their transition and helping them understand how high school works. Johnson added, “We want to help students understand stress and how to deal with it as they get into harder classes – so we would like to have some stress – management lectures, meditation classes and other speakers come to talk about mental health.”

Devon Martin (12), an officer for NHS, shares how they planed, “We are planning to implement an ‘Adopt a Freshman’ program where upperclassmen can be a sort of mentor to help freshmen navigate their upcoming high school experience.” Martin won’t have a huge part in this program. He explained, “Since I am graduating I won’t get to actively participate as a mentor, but I will be active in the planning process of this program to be implemented in the future.”

Deciding to help the incoming freshmen wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision. Martin shared, “Many NHS members felt that a great way to help our community could start right in our own school. High school, and especially the transition from high school to middle school can be extremely stressful for new freshmen and so this is a way to attempt to alleviate some of that stress.”

As the freshmen of 2023 transition from middle school to high school, they will be walked through how it operates in high school. They will be less anxious about starting their new school, meaning they can spend more time learning within classes.