Zachary Qin

Social Studies teacher Melaine Morris speaks during the end-of-semester party, congratulating students on getting through the first semester and asking students to reflect on what they’ve learned. “Have realistic expectations,” English teacher Stephanie Glotfelty said. “You are learning things and being healthy [with yourself].”

The rigorous academics at Jefferson could amount to a lot of stress for incoming freshmen if they don’t know what to expect. However, Joyful Learners, a program designed to help freshmen adapt to the transition to Jefferson provides a clean transition before the school year even begins.

Freshmen who participated in the summer learning program celebrated the end of the first semester with a party on Jan. 31. 93 students were part of this celebration, which was filled with food, drinks and reflections. Students were asked to reflect on the summer program and write them down on feedback sheets while enjoying refreshments such as chicken wings, pizza and soda. English teacher Stephanie Glotfelty created this program—along with other teachers—a few years ago to facilitate the transition into Jefferson for incoming freshmen.

“The Joyful [Learners] came about when some of [the] freshmen teachers were realizing that kids were coming in, not really knowing what to expect about Jefferson,” Glotfelty said. “So we started to put together [a few sessions] of teachers [talking] about academic integrity, how to manage your time, what type of classes to take and [other] things like that.”

The Joyful Learners program helped students get a head start at Jefferson by getting a preview of the experience.

“[Joyful Learners] taught us about skills we could use and what we could expect in the first semester [at] Jefferson,” freshman Calvin Lieu said. “It really let me hit the ground running.”

Additionally, it taught students about ways to adapt to Jefferson’s rigorous academic environment.

“They covered time management, asking questions in classes, clubs [and sleep],” freshman Colin Dignan said. “You need your sleep. Learning how to get enough sleep is definitely [the most important thing] I learned.”

Though many students seemed to have enjoyed this program, students still have ideas for improvements that could be made for the program to better benefit future freshmen.

“I wish they would cover more class paths, like if you wanted to pursue a career in engineering, science [or] technology,” freshman Tyler Tovar said. “I wish they would provide class paths that they recommend you to take.”

Students also want to see more tips on having a more lively social life at Jefferson being added to the Joyful Learners program in the future.

“If [Joyful Learners] change it a little bit to add some more things about making friends, you could definitely benefit from this [a lot more],” Dignan said.

Additionally, the new schedules at Jefferson can be rigorous, and some students wish that they were given more information on after-school logistics.

“I wished I learned more about how the sports worked [at Jefferson]. Additionally, I didn’t know much about how [after school] buses worked or my bus route for the first two weeks of school,” Lieu said.

The Joyful Learners program at Jefferson helped students in their transition to the new environment for the now-experienced freshmen at Jefferson. With great success, there is hope for this program to continue in future years.

“I would say it’s a really good experience,” Tovar said. “I would definitely recommend it to any incoming Jefferson freshmen.”