Park’s Link Crew Gets First Taste of Next Year’s Tasks
May 29, 2009 • written by Samantha Hartfiel
As Park students are aware,drastic changes will be taking place for the 2009-2010 school year in the district of South Washington County. For one, a new high school, East Ridge will be opening in Woodbury and a large number of Park’s current sophomores will be attending. However, Park will also be welcoming a new class of sophomores and freshmen, who are making the transition to the high school this fall.
Administrators at Park High School and East Ridge High School are trying to make this important transition easier for upcoming freshman by implementing a new organization known as the Link Crew Leaders. Park’s Link Crew is composed of an estimated 100 current sophomores and juniors who were selected out of the approximately 350 that applied. Selected individuals showed leadership, confidence, and personable skills through their brief essays. These students will be assigned a group of 5-10 freshmen next fall who they will participate with in activities and discussions, in an effort to make the new students feel more comfortable with their high school experience.
Last Wednesday, Park’s Link Crew got their first taste of what being a member of this influential group is all about. The morning of May 27 was termed May Play Day, and was an opportunity for all the members to get to know each other and get a feel for what they will be doing with their freshman in the fall. Starting at 7:00 am, the members met in the field house gymnastics room to find, Ms. Bien-Coffman bouncing up and down on the trampoline and shouting in excitement. The energy extended around the room as Link Crew representatives partook in various activities.
The first activity was a game of partner tag; this was just an activity to get energy and excitement flowing in the room. However, the next activities contained more meaning while still having the benefit of entertainment. One group game was called 64 squares. In this activity, students had to figure out the invisible maze in 64 squares of paper on the ground. Each group sent a student one by one to try and find their way through the maze while the instructor told them whether or not they were stepping on the correct square. If the student was correct, they got to move forward. However, if the student was incorrect, they had to go back on the already determined parts of the maze. This memorization activity tested the teamwork of the group but proved difficult and frustrating for some. Sophomore Logan Greene came up with the idea to write on the squares that were incorrect in order to aid his fellow members attempts. After the group figured out the maze activity, each student wrote three things that every Park student should know, ranging from serious to funny. Junior Samantha Hartfiel said she wrote “Join as many clubs as you can handle. You will regret it if you don’t.”
All in all, it appeared that these leaders at Park will enjoy their experience as Link Crew Leaders. They officially begin their term this August when they will be trained to lead all of the activities that they participated in on May Play Day. On September 2nd, they will meet their group of freshmen for the 2009-2010 school year.
“It should be fun,” said junior Emily Christenson.
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