Eighth graders got the chance to preview high school life by being introduced to athletics and clubs at Freshman Orientation on Jan 9. Orientation also provides athletics and clubs with the opportunity to supply information to prospective freshmen.

“I’m really excited to meet new people and join some new clubs. There are a lot more clubs here than we had in middle school; it should be fun,” said incoming freshman Amber Lehman.

Grayslake North hosts 48 different clubs and activities as well as 23 different sports for students to participate in. Eighth grade night allows clubs and sports to reach out to incoming freshmen.

“[I’m nervous] for the course load mostly. It’s also kind of overwhelming to think of all the stuff to get involved in,” Lehman said.

Some freshmen find the beginning of the school year overwhelming due to many introductory club meetings. Eighth grade night allows incoming students to find what they’d like to get involved in before beginning school.

“I signed up for a lot of different activities. I don’t think I’ll do all of them, but it’s definitely fun to get the information and meet people,” said incoming freshman Jasmin Monda.

The organizers of eighth grade night hope that it could calm some nerves for incoming students and help them adjust more fluidly when they do start high school. LINK Crew, a club dedicated to helping new students adjust, lead school tours for incoming freshmen.

“It was fun leading tours for some of the students. A lot of new students get lost in their first week, so hopefully they will get a feel for the layout, and that will calm some of the anxiety they might face later,” said junior Emily Buczynski.