The new school year starts in less than a week, and before then the incoming freshman class at Perry High School will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with their new surroundings.

On Wednesday, August 23rd, the school will be hosting the ninth grade new student orientation from 1-3 p.m. Students will have an opportunity to walk through their schedule, get their books, and meet all their teachers for the upcoming year, as well as find their lockers and learn how to navigate the building. Principal Dan Marburger says freshman orientation is something they’ve done for a long time, and he believes it helps make the transition from middle to high school much less daunting.

“A lot of those kids have been in our building before, but they haven’t been in our classrooms, or get to see our teachers. And it’s a whole different aspect when we have 600 kids in the hallway, and you have four minutes to get to your next class, and ‘My lock doesn’t work,’ or ‘I don’t know exactly where I’m going.’ Just being able to get your books before everybody else gets them, you know your schedule, you know what way you’re going when the bell rings the next time, and you know that there’s help there, it relieves a lot of tears that we see in those first days.”

Marburger adds, the incoming freshmen have mentors they call the “FrOG Squad,” which stands for Freshman Orientation Group. The mentors wear green shirts, and are available to answer questions throughout the first several weeks. Classes for grades first through twelfth at Perry will begin on Thursday, August 23rd. To learn more about the new school year at Perry High School, listen to Thursday’s Perry Fareway Let’s Talk Dallas County program at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.