Friends – How will I meet people? Will I make friends?
Initially two main concerns expressed by incoming freshmen, meeting new people and making new friends quickly becomes one of their most enjoyed aspects of attending Mater Dei. In fact, when current freshmen enrolled in Algebra I with Mrs. Deb Foote or Mrs. Maria Zurliene were asked to “Describe what you have enjoyed most about high school so far,” 75% listed meeting new people and making new friends!
We continually focus on assisting our freshmen with their transition – high school is filled with many new experiences! Thus, in addition to observing and communicating with our freshmen, we also possess specific strategies. During their first day, when no other students are in attendance, the freshmen meet the members of their mentor group, with whom they then eat lunch and complete a scavenger hunt. (By completing the scavenger hunt, freshmen become familiar with the building and meet all the administrators, teachers, and secretaries with whom they will interact daily.) The mentor groups, whose members live in a variety of towns, continue to meet throughout the year. In addition, we ensure that all freshman classes eat during the first lunch period. Finally, Mr. Jim Darr, our Campus Minister and freshman class advisor, meets with each freshman to discuss and address any concerns he/she may possess.
Academics – Will I maintain good grades? Will I have a lot of homework?
The members of our faculty pride themselves in working with all students to assist them in achieving success. As a result, our teachers help students before school, during the daily school-wide study hall, and after school. In fact, our current freshmen ranked teachers as their second “favorite” at Mater Dei.*
Moreover, our daily school-wide study hall allows students both to complete homework and to obtain assistance from their teachers and peers. In fact, for these reasons, in addition to extracurricular activities hosting meetings, our current freshmen ranked study hall as their first “favorite” at Mater Dei.*
Extracurriculars – Will the activities interest me? How will I join?
We believe that extracurricular activities play an important role in our students’ lives, allowing them to explore, to share, and to develop their gifts and talents. Thus, we are proud to offer over forty extracurricular activities! More importantly, aside from athletics, a large number of our extracurricular activities hold meetings during the daily school-wide study hall, thereby minimizing, and at times eliminating, the need for meetings after school hours.
At the recommendation of our students, we now provide our incoming freshmen with our Extracurricular Guide, which lists the moderator(s) of and descriptions of our extracurricular activities. We also host an extracurricular activities fair in the fall, which allows students to visit with student representatives of each extracurricular activity, thereby gaining information about and indicating their interest in the extracurricular activities of their choice.
Our freshman students, in their own words *
“Only one other person came from my grade school, but I quickly made a ton of friends.” Blake Haag
“The teachers are awesome – they are nice, polite, respectful, and willing to help us.” Hannah Schroeder
“Study hall gives me time to work on my homework, study for a test, and relax.” Lindsay Ratermann
“I like the choices of extracurricular activities – there is something for everyone.” Rachel Harper
* Comments were provided by freshmen on the “Freshman Survey: 2010 – 2011.”