NORWICH – Members of Norwich’s Class of 2013 got their first taste of life at the Norwich High School on Wednesday during a preliminary freshman orientation. While the concept of a new student orientation is nothing new for the district, this year’s program has a bit of a twist.

Normally, teachers and administrators are tasked with handing down the do’s and don’ts of high school protocol to the current crop of ninth graders and their parents. But this year, they were not the only ones asked to impart their knowledge and wisdom. Also addressing the group of incoming students were a group of upperclassmen who without a doubt could be considered the foremost experts in that field. After all, who better to help the freshman class become acclimated to their new school than other high school students?

“It’s a very different lifestyle here at the high school,” explained the building’s new assistant principal, Scott Ryan, as he spoke the students and parents who gathered for the orientation.

While academics remain of paramount importance at the school, Ryan said, another key to success in the high school is each student’s level of “connectedness” to both the school and their fellow students. Being connected can be measured by a student’s involvement in various extracurricular and co-curricular activities, like athletics and band, as well as how they support other students in their endeavors.

“It is the student body, in my opinion, that in this school make the culture and climate of this building,” the administrator said.

Changing the culture and climate of the high school for the better is not just a goal of the district’s and building’s administration, but also the student leaders who assisted Ryan in his presentation.

Many, but not all, of the 24 students who will serve as mentors are participants in The Leadership Project. Planning the district’s first student-run orientation program was one of the objectives of the pilot program.

After a brief discussion of specific high school policies, such as attendance, cell phones and other electronic devices and discipline, Ryan handed the microphone over to the student leaders who gave the freshman an introduction to the “unwritten” rules of Norwich High School.

“If we can get you on the right track, we can have a better environment for all of us,” said senior Derek Hughes, explaining part of the reason why he and the other students on the stage had volunteered not only to help with the orientation, but to also serve as mentors to the ninth graders throughout their entire freshman year.

The goal, as he explained it, is to help the freshman class “learn the ins and outs of” high school life while also creating a more welcoming environment at the school and helping to build student to student and student to teacher relationships.

According to Hughes, the freshmen will be divided into groups of between 7 and 10 students, each of which will be matched up with at least one upper-class mentor. For the first half of the school year, these small groups will meet once or twice a month during which they will discuss relevant topics and work on trust activities and team-building exercises.