The transition from middle school to high school may seem like a scary, maybe even terrifying, experience to those who view high school as a real-life Mean Girls movie, but thankfully in West’s case, we have freshman orientation.

Freshman Orientation, that took place Thursday, August 9,  is an annual program that Niles West has to make the freshmen feel excited and welcomed into high school. The orientation allows the freshmen to get accustomed to the school and meet their peers before starting their official first day.

“We do freshman orientation because we want the freshmen to get off on a great start and have a wonderful beginning to their high school experience. We want to be sure that they have all the tools available to them to be successful and that freshman orientation will provide those tools,” counselor and sponsor of the freshman mentor program Ann Alegnani said.

During the orientation, the freshmen get a tour of the school, allowing them to become familiar with the setting, their homeroom, and classes. Aside from getting comfortable with the school, the freshmen to get to know their fellow peers by participating in games outside with their homerooms.

“I really liked orientation because it made me feel very welcomed to Niles West and I also got to meet a lot of different people who had the same counselor as me. This orientation helped me clear my mind about high school because I thought it was a lot more scary than it was and now I’m not nervous,” Gianna Pehar said.

This special program is run by mentors, which consist of upperclassmen. Their job is to help, give advice, guide, and make the transition into high school easier. These mentors also help the freshmen throughout the year by being in their homerooms each week.

“I became a mentor because I know how stressful and different it is going from our small little nine schools to a huge school full of kids you don’t know. I wanted to help with their transition and make it as smooth as it possibly can be, mentor Gaby Goldman said.