“Join track!” “girls and boys swimming, water polo and diving!” and “join girls golf!” could be heard echoing throughout the Niles West contest gym. Curriculum and Activities Night was a success for Niles West extracurriculars in recruiting future members. Sports teams filled the contest gym, clubs filled the field house and academic booths were located in the cafeteria. This was a night for eighth graders to learn what West has to offer.

Many eighth graders obtained a sense of security and excitement from the night. Seeing all of the activities they can participate in next year was a great preview of what they can expect from high school. Some eighth graders are coming in with a good idea of which activities they will want to participate in. Eighth-grader Maley Nunsaenuan from Lincoln Junior High knows she wants to be involved in athletics due to previous experience.

“I’m interested in cheerleading, poms, and gymnastics. I’m on the cheer team [right now], but I’m guessing it’s different in high school. Gymnastics I haven’t done, and poms I haven’t done, [but I plan on trying them in high school],” Nunsaenuan said.

Other eighth graders seemed more interested in the clubs rather than athletics. Eighth-grader Emily Greiner from Parkview has two older brothers, one who has graduated and one who is currently a junior, but she plans on pursuing different interests.

“[I’m interested in] A capella, German, I think engineering, maybe tennis. My brother’s a cheerleader so his coach is trying to convince me to do that, [but I don’t think I will],” Greiner said.

The excitement was clear in the eighth graders’ faces when they witnessed the clubs.

“I can see a lot of the activities outside of school and the kind of people that go to this school. I’m kind of done with my middle school, so [I’m excited to start],” Greiner said.

Floating around in red volunteer shirts were West students in National Honors Society to help direct the eighth graders and their parents. Senior Mason Schmidt was excited to help out because he remembers how much the night helped him make the transition to high school.

“I know that as an incoming eighth-grader I had a lot of pressure and I was pretty nervous to come to high school and the people walking around the hallways made me feel more accepted and safe, so I’m glad that can be me now. It feels pretty good,” Schmidt said.