Seniors mentor freshmen sidekicks during first day

MIDDLETOWN — More than 50 Middletown High School students gave up their last day of summer vacation to aid freshmen with their transition into high school.

The seniors, who don’t begin classes until today, dubbed themselves the Senior Sidekicks. They helped freshmen locate their classes, ate with them at lunch and answered questions about their own freshman experiences. The group wore bright orange T-shirts — bought with their own money — to help them stand out. Each senior had a “buddy” to guide throughout the day.

Lindsay Sweatt, 17, organized the group, comprised of many National Honors Society members and others actively involved at the high school. Sweatt was proud of the way the day turned out.

“A lot of people in our class see the need for change,” Sweatt said. “I’ve been getting text messages for weeks saying ‘I’m so excited to meet my Senior Sidekicks!’ ”

Sweatt said many freshmen had already contacted her on the Facebook social networking site, telling her they were getting nervous about their first day.

“I told them, ‘calm down, we have someone who will walk you to every class,’ ” she said. “We’re just reassuring them that high school is not this big, scary ordeal.”

Sweatt says the group is planning community service events, and hopes to create a visual, positive presence in the community.

High school Spanish teacher Stephanie Cooper said the group has been consulting with her on the new mentoring program. “One month we’ll do a fun activity and one month we’ll do a community activity,” she said. “Everyone will see us doing something positive.”

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