The line is long, car after car waits for their children to build up the nerve to go inside. Finally, doors open, bells ring, chaos is controlled. The ocean is a large place for a small fish, but this fish is prepared for their day of school.

The school year started off with the annual Fish Camp and Pre-Ap Academy, August 8-11, welcoming all incoming freshmen into the to campus. Fish Camp is a three-and-a-half-hour camp designed for students to learn more about the school and high school life. The Pre-Ap Academy is an extra push for those considering higher courses or simply looking for a successful year.

“The Pre-Ap/ Transition Academy was a two-day camp with teachers on campus. Students followed a bell schedule with eight sessions that included biology and world geography and other social skills,” ninth grade Principal Ms. Hodgins said. “We want all of our students that come in as ninth graders to graduate. We stressed that a lot in Fish Camp because it starts now.”

The freshmen class this year has just over 1,150 students, and the number of students that took the advantage of fish cam was 750. There was plenty of room to meet lots of new people. Students had various games and team building activities with their old and new friends that the camp put together.

“The games were pretty fun. We played a silent game of Russian Roulette using just our eyes to eliminate people and Duck-Duck-Goose,” Ashley Holcomb said. “I made a lot of friends within my student group.”

A vital addition to the campers’ knowledge is the school building itself. The Student Leadership team guided students around the freshmen wing along with hallways in the main building. These tours helped students get a basic idea of where everything was before they have to survive on their own.

“My tour guides were really cool, and they showed us around places I don’t think adults would show us,” Katie Boyd said. “I knew what I was doing the first day of school.”

Now that school has started and Fish Camp is in the past, the class of 2020 is a strong addition to our student body. The freshmen have settled in and are ready for the next four years of their life.

“The students definitely feel more like real high school students,” Ms. Hodgins said. “Everyone is getting more comfortable and their true personalities are shining through.”