The Colletonian
On Friday, May 6, Cougar New Tech (CNT) had its fourth annual student acceptance day. For that day, CNT had the incoming New Tech eighth graders visit the CNT house in Colleton County High School so that they could see what they were in for when it came time for them to become freshmen.
The day started when all current students met in the Performing Arts Center (PAC). The incoming eighth graders arrived on buses at around 8:30 and then went to the PAC. The incoming students walked down the middle aisle of the PAC while all current students, sitting on the sides of the aisle, cheered them on. Once all students were seated, Mr. Cable, the dean of New Tech, and a few selected New Tech students gave welcoming speeches on the core characteristics of New Tech, New Tech laptops, and the obstacles that new students will face as they arrive at the high school.
After meeting in the PAC, all the incoming students explored the classrooms in New Tech and then moved to breakout sessions where they had activities to participate in. There were breakout sessions for trust and respect so that the eighth graders could see what New Tech is based on and what they are expected to do when they get to their freshman year. In the trust breakout session, the incoming students went to the auxiliary gym where the current students had set up an obstacle course. For this course, the incoming students had to get into pairs with one student being blindfolded and the other student being the “leader.” The blindfolded one would participate in the obstacle course while the leader would relay instructions to the blindfolded student so that they could navigate the course effectively.
In the respect breakout session, the incoming students went into a presentation room in New Tech where Abigail Branch told them about respect and how they will need to act in New Tech. While Abigail was presenting, there was another student, Hunter Ohmer, who was causing havoc in the classroom to represent disrespect. The eighth graders thought that Hunter was part of their class, but really he was partnered up with Abigail to show them what respect really is.
Cougar New Tech is thankful for the community’s support and the newest students of New Tech because they keep the program running. CNT hopes it can continue to help the community for as long as possible.