Freshman Anna Feagle sits in the Mell Auditorium at Clarke Central High School during the freshman assembly on Aug. 3. Meghan McNeeley, English department co-chair has taught on the Freshman Academy, an area of CCHS dedicated to freshmen, since 2017. “This is kind of where you learn to do high school if you don’t know how to do high school,” McNeeley said. “Part of (Freshman Academy) is trying to get (freshmen) to adjust to the way things are here— to be more responsible, to have a little more self-control, to understand that we’re not going to do all these things for you. You have to start doing it for yourself.” Photo by Aza Khan
Freshman Academy teachers are planning and hosting a tailgate before the Homecoming game on Sept. 29.
Shana Biggs, social studies department teacher and Freshman Academy Leader, and Meghan McNeeley, English department teacher and co-department chair, are planning to host a tailgating event for Freshman Academy students starting at 6:00 on Sept. 29, the night of the Homecoming game against Flowery Branch High School.
The Freshman Academy is housed on the third floor and is designed to make the transition from middle to high school successful for students, both socially and emotionally, It is made up of a team of teachers, its own designated administrator, and security officers.
“This is kind of where you learn to do high school if you don’t know how to do high school,” McNeeley said. “Part of (Freshman Academy) is trying to get (freshmen) to adjust to the way things are here— to be more responsible, to have a little more self-control, to understand that we’re not going to do all these things for you. You have to start doing it for yourself.”
“Part of (Freshman Academy) is trying to get (freshmen) to adjust to the way things are here— to be more responsible, to have a little more self-control, to understand that we’re not going to do all these things for you. You have to start doing it for yourself.”
— Meghan McNeeley,
English department teacher and co-department chair
Freshmen were expected to register for the event via Google Forms by Sept. 20. Students who completed the form will be given wristbands during Advisement on Sept. 27.
“It is going to be an RSVP-event, and it will be something where you do have to purchase a ticket for the football game,” Biggs said. “We will have food: hotdogs, hamburgers and possibly some sides. We’ve got games like cornhole and yard games.”
The tailgate is part of a larger project to promote a sense of community within Freshman Academy.
“We had that open house before school started— we always have that,” McNeeley said. “In the past, we’ve had some dress-up days and some sillier things up here to help get us all through the weeks.”
For freshmen, the tailgate is an opportunity to support their new school.
“(I like) just cheering on the team. Even though I don’t like the sport that much, it’s fun to support the school,” freshman Harper Clarke said. “I do think it’s important (to have events like these) because (school) would just be boring without them.”
“(I like) just cheering on the team. Even though I don’t like the sport that much, it’s fun to support the school… I do think it’s important (to have events like these) because (school) would just be boring without them.”
— Harper Clarke,
Freshman
Biggs hopes for a high turnout to the event and thinks it is a good opportunity for students, parents and teachers to interact in a non-educational environment.
“(We) are hoping that we have just a ton of people come out because it’s a really great opportunity for families to come and meet teachers and for teachers to meet families in a setting that’s not the classroom setting,” Biggs said. “We get to just talk or stand around and talk and have fun.”
