Aragon commenced the school year with the return of Jump Start days. Held on Aug. 6 and 7, Jump Start days were separated into two time slots: 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Freshmen filled the first slot and juniors filled the second slot on the first day, while sophomores filled the first slot and seniors filled the second slot on the second day.
Jump Start days gave students the opportunity to get their student handbooks, confirm the accuracy of their schedules, return overdue library books, take their school pictures, and make posters. Students involved in Leadership and Service Commission worked in coordination with administration and adult volunteers for the event.
Julise Hall, Associated Student Body president and senior, says that the office contacted Leadership students for assistance in helping out with schedules and InfoSnap. “The office told us how many people they needed to help out and they told us we would be helping out with scheduling and InfoSnap. They gave us a number of about ten, so we just got people to sign up for it if they were free,” says Hall.
In addition to their official duties, Leadership students set up a poster-making station on Aug. 7. Set up near the office, students used Leadership supplies to make school spirit posters, which were put up around the school once the school year started.
“[The purpose] was to include kids in making the school more decorated and spirited if they had artistic ability,” says Hall. “It was an idea that Leadership decided on, and it’s the first year we’ve done it.”
Two-thirds to three-fourths of students go to Jump Start day, according to assistant principal Joe Mahood. Mahood and principal Patricia Kurtz first introduced Jump Start days to Aragon in the fall of 2013. These efforts were in response to Burlingame High School’s version of an event that allowed students to get ready for the school year before the official first day of school. “We spent the spring of 2013 brainstorming how we wanted to do it for Aragon,” says Mahood.
This year, Mahood notices that Jump Start days have become more organized, but looks to improve it even more in the the future.
Last year, freshmen and sophomores came on the morning of one day, and juniors and seniors came in on the morning of another, but this year saw the separation of Jump Start days into distinct grade levels for the sake of organization. “We’re a little more organized because this is our second time and we expanded it instead of having everyone come on the morning of each day,” explains Mahood.
In the future, Mahood hopes to have students check out library books at the event instead of wasting classroom time with this task. “The new thing we’re thinking about is having the capacity for students to check out books during Jump Start, so it would speed up the time it takes to get started. But that takes getting the teachers on board and some really significant organizational work, so we’ll see what happens,” he says.
Only in its second year, Jump Start days still have much opportunity for growth and improvement. “It’s evolving and will continue to evolve,” comments Mahood.
