Abbeville High School

1. Abbeville High School Presenter: Joseph Nagy Abbeville High School LA High School Redesign Summit April 22, 2009

2. Abbeville High School Abbeville High Demographics Abbeville High School 1305 Wildcat Dr. Abbeville, LA 70510 (337) 893 1874 www.abbevillehigh.com

3. Graph of Freshman Index OVERALL SCORE ’04-’05 643 ’05-’06 640 ’06-’07 682 ’07-’08 713

4. Abbeville High School Welcome Aboard!Freshman Orientation Day 2008 Wednesday August 6, 2008 12:00pm - 7:00pm Building Relationships, Games, Skits, Guest Speakers, Snacks, Dinner, Videos and FUN! 27 small groups led by Senior and Junior Team Leaders

5. Abbeville High School Freshman Orientation 2008 Schedule of Events: August 6, 2008

6. Abbeville High School Senior & Junior Team Leaders • Broad cross section of students showing some leadership ability chosen in early Spring • Teacher recommendations (9th, 10th, 11th) • Given an acceptance flyer • Choose more students than needed • The Team Leaders make the day successful

7. Abbeville High School Faculty & Staff Help • It takes a large number of faculty and staff to make Orientation a success • Administrators, teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, cafeteria workers, janitors- everyone! • Send out a “Wanna Help?” form in late Spring • Not just Freshman level teachers involved • AHS has a third of the staff help with Orientation

8. Abbeville High School Funding Orientation Day • Some food is donated (Thank you Riverfront Restaurant!!) • Car wash at O’Reilly’s Auto Parts (or 2) • Sales of Freshman Academy T-shirts (sold at 8th grade parent meeting in Spring- pick up at Orientation) • Funds needed for food, T-shirts, and supplies

9. Abbeville High School Gathering Incoming Freshman Info • Obtain information on incoming freshman in spring or early summer • Need to monitor lists of students and their information as Orientation day approaches • Need addresses to send out flyer in late summer • Keep track of newly registered students as well as students who have moved (counselor, secretary)

10. Abbeville High School Preparing for Orientation Day • Create “Welcome Aboard” locker tags • Separate Freshman into groups according to Team Leader • Secure guest speakers for the day • Finalize number of people attending and helping so enough food is prepared • Organize competitions and secure supplies

11. Abbeville High School Still Preparing for Orientation Day • Finalize master schedule for day • Create and print student registration sheets and parent sign-in sheets • Pack all Orientation Folders for Team Leaders and Station Leaders • Post signs around school showing locations of different stations, competitions, and activities

12. Abbeville High School Creating the Groups • Create an alphabetical list of Freshman in a spreadsheet • Type in group numbers (in numerical order) next to each name • Copy and paste numbers until the end of the list of Freshman • Sort by “Group Number”

13. Abbeville High School The Team Leader Folder • Both Senior Leader and Junior Leaders receive a copy for their group • Each group receives an individual schedule for Orientation Day with names of Freshman • Includes school maps, “quick tips”, talking points, checklist of duties for the day • Junior Folder also includes Competition forms • Group number is taped to the back of the folder

14. Abbeville High School Scheduling • Create a Master Schedule using a Spreadsheet • All groups must attend all stations, competitions, and activities throughout the day • Good mix of groups- not staying with 1 or 2 of the same all day • Some activities are done as a whole, some on individual group time • Each Team Leaders gets individualized schedule

15. Abbeville High School Orientation Day Begins! (finally) • Students are checked at the gym door for proper dress • Students proceed to registration table to be assigned to a group and given a group number • Team Leaders hold up group numbers taped to the back of their folder • Welcome from administration, teachers, cheerleaders and instructions for the day

16. Abbeville High School Stations • ID’s and Fees in Front Office • Open your Locker • PBS Video Room • School Procedures Video Room • Name Art • Counselor Corner

17. Abbeville High School Competitions • Obstacle Course (two students in three legged race- use velcro- one is blindfolded) • “Don’t be Late” Competition • Focus Throw (nerf ball in hula hoop blindfolded) • Opening your Locker • Scavenger Hunt (in 2009)

18. Abbeville High School Other Activities • Welcome in gym • Snack Time- “Making High School Count” speaker • Guest Speaker #2 • Dinner in Cafeteria • Drum Line & Dance Team Performance • Alma Mater all day long

19. Abbeville High School Orientation Day Ends! (finally) • Parent Meeting in early evening while Freshman are in the gym after dinner • Students reconnected with their parents and shown video of events from Orientation day • Competition winners are announced and given prizes • Debriefing meeting with Orientation team after to discuss suggestions for following year

20. Abbeville High School For More Information: Abbeville High School 1305 Wildcat Dr. Abbeville, LA 70510 (337) 893 1874 www.abbevillehigh.com (Check out the Freshman Academy link!) James Segrest, Principal jsegrest@vrml.k12.la.us Jeff Janette, Assistant Principal jjanette@vrml.k12.la.us Joseph Nagy, Freshman Teacher jnagy@vrml.k12.la.us “MAKE IT HAPPEN!”