Orientation Reflections

Mira Ponnambalam ’26 (Features Associate) in Features | September 13, 2024

Last Saturday, the 2024 orientation concluded with a victory for the Boys’ Varsity Football team—and Lawrenceville as a whole. Every member of the Lawrenceville community had their own, unique orientation experience, tailored to individual groups.

After the Ropes Course Instructors and the Varsity Football team arrived on campus, student leaders and other preseason athletes followed.

The Student Council reviewed recent changes to school rules and discussed plans for the upcoming year. In addition, prefects also helped ready the Houses for the incoming students and were trained to fulfill their roles. Stephens House Prefect Arisa Okamura ’25 felt that preparation for these changes was “really valuable.” She found that orientation felt shorter than expected: “Before I noticed, all the new students trickled in.”

Because the II Form is new to Lawrenceville, they had their own unique orientation, including a farm-to-table dinner, a scavenger hunt, and time spent at the Joshua L. Miner Ropes Course, and the Bowl Cup. Sorted into their English classes, students were able to form an early bond with their classmates during their time at the Josh.

Lara Cooper ’28 found it helpful that the programming was spread across campus, so she knew how to physically navigate through Lawrenceville when classes officially commenced. New students in other Forms arrived a day earlier than returning students to give them time and space to acclimate to Lawrenceville. They went to meetings for essential logistics, like downloading the Reach app, and they also had bonding activities with other new students in their Form.

An integral part of orientation is introducing students into the House system.

Okamura found it difficult to “welcome new students as members of the House” because they “knew no one and…might feel homesick.” Returning III Formers came across struggles when trying to adapt to life in the Crescent and Circle as well.

Isaac Moon ’27 noted that while at first, “it was so busy that it was hard to meet people in the House,” eventually “there were a lot of House meetings built into orientation that [proved] useful.”

Other school-wide and Form-wide activities, such as the block party, football game, and line dancing, helped build relationships in the larger community.

Remarking on the football game, Cho said she had “never seen that much school spirit on campus before” and “loved that day students were [required] to come.” Even so, Cho noted that making activities mandatory produces mixed responses, as some prefer free time to rest and relax.

As opposed to bonding, additional orientation programming aimed to inform students about rules.

While reviewing the rules in class rotations and School Meeting, Moon found that about “20 percent of what they said went over [his] head.” Cooper, on the other hand, thought that class rotations “showed [her] what the class was going to be like” and that the amount of new information “wasn’t too much.”

Okamura, meanwhile, noted the emphasis on wellness in this year’s orientation, stating that “even if it is repetitive, making sure that every single student on the campus knows what resources are available is really important.” While some teachers chose to stick to the suggested programming, others put their own unique spin on icebreakers and the introductory process.

It is time to begin a new chapter based on the unique relationships formed and lessons learned during the opening weeks. The end of orientation marks the beginning of a fresh year for students and faculty alike.

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Orientation Reflections