Freshmen were kept in the main gym for Challenge Day where they did all sorts of fun team-building activities to keep them entertained and in social spirits. The freshmen were given white T-shirts to represent their participation in the event.
The whole process was to encourage the freshmen to get to know one another in different ways other than just sitting in classrooms. The challenge was to create bonds and relationships with fellow freshmen to make the rest of their high school years easier.
McClatchy staff worked endlessly to create new ways to kill alienation in high schools. Since high school can be an intimidating place, it’s sometimes hard to feel comfortable when all you can think about is getting through your day. Challenge Day is an early start for freshmen to find comfort in people their own age in a creative space. It’s all about finding a place where you can look forward to your day instead of dreading it.
Creating this space for 14/15-year-olds to put them in similar situations created new friendships and understandings that have been shared across the 100 freshmen at McClatchy that participated. But a lot of freshmen have reported that they mostly just sit around all day waiting for instructions and don’t feel like they built or formed any connections.