At 8:09 AM, the first bell of the school year goes off on August 1st, 2018. This officially marks another summer ends and a new year begins. As students, both returning and new, trickle into the classrooms, the teachers prepare a specific plan laid out for the course of the next two days.

Heritage’s Week of Welcome (W.O.W.) was a two day long schedule of the Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors in the beginning of the school year. It acts as a refresher for returning students of Heritage as well as a welcoming period for new students to Heritage High School.

Over the course of two days, Heritage was reminded of their role in the means of being a Patriot. Various lessons were discussed based on school rules, activities throughout Heritage, social media influence, and many more topics. On top of that, many icebreakers and games were played among teachers and students to create new bonds with each other.

“It was a great way for the students to recollect themselves and get out of the summer vibe,” Ms. Laprade, the Design and Art History teaher claims, “I know that everyone somehow gained something from it and that’s a great way to start the year.”

However, many students found W.O.W. to be very irritating and boring over the course of the sessions. Most of the students complained about its repetitiveness and lessons that were taught due to the fact of it being review.

“It felt like a drag,” Chaldean Abanid (11) claims, “They talked about things we [as returning students] already knew, it was such a long day.”

Other believed it was very beneficial to students and helped to refresh their memory about school. It provided a new mindset to returning students on what they need to remember and look towards as students of Heritage.

“I thought it benefited everyone,” Evelyn Young (10) says, “everyone in school might have needed a review or were not there the year before, so everyone kinda benefited in some way.”

The Week of Welcome has proven to be very influential to the student population. Whether it was seen as a waste of time or a fun way to introduce the school year, this was seen as a beneficial way to kick-start a new year.