Greyhound Connections, a group of 41 students who serve as mentors to new students at this school, is planning an upcoming tailgate on Sept. 10.

Olivia LaMagna, Greyhound Connections president and senior, said the group is sponsoring the tailgate to encourage new students’ support of athletics at this school. “It’s the next football game, the same night as Tailgate for Life,” she said.

Overall, LaMagna said the group focuses on making sure no new students are left out and can easily get acclimated to the size and structure of this school. However, according to LaMagna, the original purpose of the group has shifted slightly over the past couple of years.

“We’ve kind of extended our original purpose to the whole student body in the last two years, because it’s totally possible that some kids never got over the whole ‘being new’ thing,” LaMagna said. “So we just kind of take it upon ourselves to make sure no one’s being left out and can easily get involved with the school.”
According to LaMagna, Greyhound Connections members have been working with new students since the week before school started, when they held an information session and led tours. The group also held a new student breakfast on Aug. 25 to see how they were progressing.

In past years, Greyhound Connections members have been able to visit new students during SRT to check up on them. However, LaMagna said new school policies have changed this practice.

“Because of the new system, we can’t visit in SRTs yet, like in prior years, due to the fact we can’t access their names in the database like we used to,” LaMagna said. “So far, most contact has been face-to-face with new students we notice in classes and via e-mail. But we’re hoping to be able to visit them in SRTs soon.”
Amy deOliveira, Greyhound Connections member and senior, said she is looking forward to another year of helping new students. “I love being with so many sweet people and getting to meet new people throughout the year, “deOliveira said. “I joined because of all the people who told me that it was such a great way to get involved in the school.” By Nina Underman