Once a year, current eighth-graders at Harding Middle School and Garfield Middle School get a first-hand experience at LHS by shadowing one of the students for a few periods that day. LHS students show the middle schoolers all the fantastic clubs and classes our school has to offer.

Harding students visited LHS on Wednesday, October 23, 2019, and Garfield visited on Thursday, October 24, 2019.

Both schools had morning and afternoon rotations when they visited LHS. When they were not at LHS, the eighth-graders had different stations at their schools, where they listened to different presentations about the high school. These presentations included topics such as community service, LHS staff, rules and expectations, West Shore programs, athletics, clubs and activities, and how to smoothly transition into high school.

While eighth-graders were at LHS, they had lunch in the Civic Auditorium and shadowed in three periods. They also received a free t-shirt.

Max Winters, a student at Harding Middle School, was interviewed about his buddy day experience.

“I’m so excited for Lakewood High School after shadowing on Wednesday! I shadowed in German, wind ensemble, and took a tour of the school, and I enjoyed the wind ensemble the most. The whole day was a blast. There are so many cool opportunities here, and I can’t wait to be able to pick out my own classes, like Project Lead the Way, French, and all the different music courses.”

Jordan “The Tree” Rossen, a freshman at LHS, had a buddy from both Harding and Garfield. She shared her thoughts on how the days went.

“I was able to take both of my buddies to English, which they enjoyed because they got to participate in class. They seemed to be excited about LHS. I think Ranger Day is beneficial to the eighth graders because they were able to see a part of the day from someone who was not trying to sell the school, and they still really enjoyed it.”

Freshman Lydianna Trudel had two shadows over two days. She reflected on what Ranger Day is about.

“It was nice to think that I could make a difference and try to help some of the eighth-graders that are nervous for high school.”

Overall, Ranger Day was successful for both middle school students and LHS students, the days were full of fun and made next year’s freshmen feel at home.