![French teacher Marieme Toure serves a plate of the Senegalese food she prepared for her AP French Language and Culture class, to senior Faiza Syed. “I never had Senegalese food before,” Syed said. “I thought it was so cool that she was able to bring a part of her culture [and] background to us.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_0798-1200x906.jpeg)
![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
For freshmen, coming into high school can be scary—a new school with huge halls and dozens of rooms across two levels. In order to ensure freshmen have a good and successful high school experience, the WINGS program was created two years after the opening of the school in 2014 by Assistant Principal Jennifer Cavanaugh. It was founded in order to help freshmen understand high school, what they can expect, and how to navigate their experience.
Through this program, rising juniors and seniors have the opportunity to apply to be mentors. Junior Charisse Rose Caparros joined the program as a brand-new mentor this year. “I became a mentor because I’ve always had a passion to help and support people,” Caparros said. “It is also a great way to give advice to freshmen.”
Mentors are assigned to a freshman advisory where they create lesson plans to help form a strong understanding of high school. From social media usage to advice sessions with mentors, freshmen are able to learn and adapt to the high school environment as quickly as possible.
Cavanaugh enjoys seeing the mentors who were once freshmen share their experiences throughout high school with the new freshmen. It provides them with the opportunity to take advice from their peers rather than adults they may feel they cannot connect with.
Freshman Mya Bilinski has enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with WINGS mentors during advisory. “I like being able to know some of the upperclassmen,” Bilinski said. “I really like the mentors that I’ve met, they are kind and relatable.” Having a strong connection with mentors allows freshmen to ask questions and get advice in return. It also helps create a strong relationship with fellow classmates and upperclassmen.
This year, with the addition of activity blocks, the program is easier to run. “The mentors now have time to meet with each other and the coaches to write our lesson plans,” Cavanaugh said. “This is the first year we’ve been able to do that.”
Activity block gives the WINGS program 30 minutes every other Friday to meet in a group and come up with lessons and activities they want to target towards the freshman class. Mentors and advisors come together to brainstorm and put their plans in motion. By the end of the year, the freshmen have gained the confidence and connections to ensure their high school experience is the best that it can be.
With plans to create strong team bonds between freshmen and mentors, the WINGS program continues to support the newest students by welcoming them into high school with open arms.
