As the spring semester pushes eighth graders ever closer to high school, Thursday Jan. 29 was a well-chosen time for Campolindo to hold its annual open house. Open House began at 5:30 p.m. with food trucks and a social event for the Campolindo Parents Club. At 6 p.m., families of incoming freshmen headed into the gym to get their first big welcome from Principal Pete Alvarez. After Alvarez, Associate Principal Robyn Harrison and board members from the school district and the Moraga Education Foundation spoke as well. At 6:45 p.m., new families were let out to check out classes and electives.
According to Alvarez, Open House is held so incoming students “meet teachers and begin to feel like this is their next home.” Alvarez wishes the incoming class “[gets] really excited about coming to Campolindo and [becoming] Cougars next year.”
The library and small gym were open to display student clubs and sports teams. Teachers were in classrooms presenting and discussing course pathways with parents. Various electives were on display, exhibiting student work and drawing students in with interactive activities. The Wellness Center was also open for families to better understand the mental health resources offered.
Junior Andrew Kirchner believes that electives – in particular, woodshop and video production – did a great job of letting students experience some of the fun in these courses. These classes “do well at showcasing [what’s in them],” says Kirchner. The projects displayed during the open house “give people more of a perspective on what the class is saying” he added.
Athletes and leadership class members also had important responsibilities that night. Senior Evey Uziel was “excited to represent [Campo’s] beach volleyball team” in the small gym, while sophomore San Lee was “shuttl[ing] people around for leadership.”
Through engaging open house activities paired with a big welcome from current students, Campo showed incoming freshmen the myriad of opportunities available to them at Campo. “My biggest advice for anyone starting high school, especially Campo, is to get involved,” says counselor Amardeep Dhaliwal. “I think that’s a massive game changer, and getting involved…changes your whole experience at Campo.”
