On April 19, the Phoenix hosted the Stone Hill eighth graders for their annual Future Phoenix Expo. As an introduction to the school, its people, and its activities, this event allowed the Stingrays to ease into their possible future school as well as learn about high school in general.

After the middle schoolers arrived, they headed to the auditorium for a special preview of Rock Ridge Performing Arts’ spring musical “Bring It On.” The group began by having several members tumble, cartwheel, and flip across the stage before performing two songs from the play: “It Ain’t No Thing” and “It’s All Happening.” After they hit their final pose, the audience exploded into applause before beginning their station rotations. 

All the attendees were split into four groups prior to arriving at the school, and were then assigned to head to their first station out of four. Their stations were a student panel, the club expo, the sports expo, and a meeting with Rock Ridge administration.

The club expo took place in the aux gym, and after a performance from the drumline, eighth graders were given the chance to speak to any of the representatives from the multiple clubs present. Most volunteers had tables for this event to not only inform next year’s students about what they love, but also to recruit new members. As one of the leaders of the 2023-2024 Rock Ridge Mock Trial Chapter, junior Juliana Noriega showed up because she felt she could relate to the future students. “I volunteered some of my time to help the mock trial club because I personally have enjoyed my time in the club,” Noriega said. “I [also] came from a perspective of not having a lot of experience. So I feel like I could empathize with some of the freshmen who perhaps haven’t dabbled into mock trial or debate or anything like that.” 

Next, the group moved to the main gym, where they were met with tables from almost all the sports that they would be given the chance to join next year. All the tables at both of these stations were student-run, as volunteers from the respective clubs and teams gave up their class time to attend the events. A big theme across tables was non-seniors running them, as they wanted to get more teammates and introduce them to the group. “I think the environment [at Rock Ridge makes] us kind of a brotherhood,” varsity boys soccer player junior Ibbi Rostom said. “We might not be the most talented team in the world but if there’s one thing we have, [it’s] a brotherhood and a connection. I think helping these kids come in [to high school, since] I’ll be [a] senior next year, [will] bring in my experience that I’ve had at Rock Ridge to them.”

Another station was the student panel, held in the auditorium, consisting of multiple Phoenixes from different grades and groups. The volunteers in the crowd passed a microphone to different people with questions about high school, which the panelists gladly answered. 

One of the speakers was junior Maggie Miller, who is a member of SCA and RRPA. “I was at the panel because I am involved in the school as much as possible,” Miller said. “I thought it went really well, it helped some of the rising 9th graders and asked some questions to help the students.” The last station was the administration presentation in the library, led by principal John Duellman. This was the only adult-led station, as it was meant to be a way to have future students connect with their future supervisor support team.

All areas were meant to give those attending an introduction to not only Rock Ridge but also affiliated groups, as most of them will most likely be attending next year. Similar to Scoop Day for the new freshman at the beginning of their first year, this event allowed the Stingrays to ease any anxiety that had about going to a new school, giving them the opportunity to explore, talk to current students, and ask any questions they may have had.

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Manika Porchezhian

Principle John Duellman gives attendees their first chance to meet the Rock Ridge administration. After asking some warm up questions to all administrators, such as what their favorite snack was, Duellman explained that they would be the support team for the future Phoenix.