Welcome to Campus, 8th Graders!

With the start of second semester, students started noticing unfamiliar faces around campus on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To their surprise, they found out that the students are potential applicants for the upcoming school year.

“Shadow days” a program stopped during Covid, so most current students never experienced it. The program invites 8th graders to experience a day on campus.

Vice Principal Helen Kim sent out an email to freshman and sophomore students inviting them to host the applicants as “shadows”.

Shadows accompany the hosts through their first two core classes, and the hosts introduce them to student life, talking about how they manage school, sports, and their personal lives outside of school. During lunch, the potential applicants attend a student panel.

On Jan. 12, Freshman Isaac Bautista hosted Kevin from Cesar Chavez Ravenswood Middle School. Kevin was, “Nice, polite, eager to learn”, Isaac said, to the point where he took papers from Marianne’s Algebra 2 class home to study on his own.

Issac enjoyed hosting a student and noted that the shadow could “talk to other students” and ask how they feel about being an Eastside panther.

“[I] actually liked it a lot, because it’s kinda fun being able to show them around the school and like the [different] electives,” said freshman Marely Sanchez.

“I really enjoyed shadowing at Eastside. It was a good chance to get to see the campus and a little bit of what it’s like to go there,” said Janelle Jimenez, applicant from Girls Middle School (GMS).

Eastside students have enjoyed having these applicants see the campus first hand and get a glimpse of how life at Eastside really is. The shadows have also mentioned this was a great experience.

Some hosts said that they can see how helpful the shadowing could be because it wasn’t available when they applied.

“I’m glad they have this opportunity. If we did it, it would have been easier, so in a way I get to know that it’s easier for them to get some sort of preview.” said Marely Sanchez.