A tide of orange and gray filled the halls of Edward Little High School last Wednesday to launch the seventh year of upperclassmen advising the incoming freshmen as part of the Kick Off Mentor program. Since 2005, the high school staff has chosen a select team of upperclassmen as Kick Off Mentors to help guide the newcomers.
    “I’m just nervous, the rest of my life starts tomorrow,” said freshman Clayton Carver last Wednesday. Edward Little staff and students  put this first day together for kids like Carver to help the freshmen quickly acclimate to their new home for the next four years.
    “It was really good for me to get to know some of the mentors and teachers, because it was easier on me the next day,” said freshman Katie Ferrara. One purpose of the program is to give freshmen a day to look around the school and see where their classes are and meet their teachers before being bombarded by all the other students the next morning.
    This year, the mentors put on Edward Little’s own fashion show. The show was to inform the freshmen of appropriate and inappropriate school attire. “I definitely loved the fashion show. I thought that it was a funny way to tell kids what to wear and what not to wear,” said freshman Noah Williamson.
    In the fashion show, senior Zach Tannenbaum, and junior Mike Hammon,  were dressed in drag, wearing low cut shirts, too short shorts and more to represent what girls should not wear to school. Also a few girls showed how boys should not dress by wearing low hanging shorts, showing boxers, and wearing drug or alcohol related attire.
    Steve Galway, an assistant principal, has observed the program since the beginning and has seen the changes in the freshman classes. “It was our seventh year and our best year,” said Galway. “Every year gets better and better.”
    To celebrate the first day, the staff put on a cookout for the freshmen and mentors. During the hour lunch, staff, mentors and freshmen gathered outside in the afternoon, eating grilled burgers, talking with their friends and some even playing catch with the traditional class frisbees that are given out each year.
    Ryan Laroche, a 1990 Edward Little graduate and current U.S history teacher, manned the grill. “The mentors have done a great job, as well as the mentor council, getting everything prepared for today,” said Laroche.
    Even the parents are involved on their child’s first day, as some parents stayed for the cookout and got involved with the whole day. “It gives a little bit of an adjustment and look at the building for the freshmen,” said Judi Hall, who has a son, Chase Hall, starting his freshman year.
    Jim Horn, another assistant principal, said it is “The best program in the state and every high school should have one.”