WV and BC 8th Graders Visit Harriton
Last year’s Move Up Day. Any eighth graders that visited Harriton this week and decide to attend will experience this event in the spring.
On the afternoons of January 5 and 6, the freshmen mentors were not in class. They had gathered in the main lobby to welcome the future freshman class from Bala Cynwyd and Welsh Valley Middle Schools. The eighth graders entered to applause from the freshman mentors and nostalgic comments from students on the second floor about the shortness of the visitors.
After an informational presentation, Pitch Please and the jazz band performed. Then, groups of four freshmen mentors gathered groups of middle school students and gave them a tour of the school.
The Bala Cynwyd students visited on Tuesday, the 5th. Most of the BC kids will attend LM, although a small number of kids do end up coming to Harriton.
The freshmen mentors anticipated difficulty trying to convince them that Harriton was the better school (which we all know is true!). However, as tour guides, they kept a positive attitude, telling them that they can’t go wrong with either school.
Some of the freshmen mentors could not help getting more excited for the Welsh Valley tours the next day, with the higher likelihood that these students would attend Harriton.
Willie Marks, a senior freshmen mentor, said, “I can’t wait to see all of the bright smiles from the kids who both will replace my grade at Harriton and come from my alma mater, the prestigious Welsh Valley Middle School.”
The eighth graders from both schools were shy. When asked questions such as, “Is anyone thinking about IB?”, “What kinds of clubs does everyone want to join?” and “Does anyone play sports?”, hands went up rather silently.
However, there always seemed to be a few kids who spoke up with enthusiasm. A Welsh Valley student named Jen exclaimed, “There’s so much to do!”
Senior Coby Levit asked his group after the tour, “So who is for sure coming to Harriton next year?” As all of the hands of the students in the group went up, he knew he had done his job.
The high school choice deadline is January 22. We will see the eighth graders who make the Harriton decision again during Move Up Day, later in the year.
