Heading for highschool
Eighth graders tour their potentially new school
Photo by Anna Haley
Red Lick eighth grader Cole McMillon and Senior Annie Powell enjoy street tacos and conversation. The Red Lick eighth graders toured Texas High School on Thursday, Jan. 19, 2022.
January 24, 2023
Buses pull into the school with eager eighth graders filing out as they head into what might be their new school come next fall.
On Jan. 19, Texas High held the annual Red Lick tours for eighth graders from Red Lick Middle School. The tour allows students a deeper insight as they begin to decide what school they will attend next fall.
“When I toured in eighth grade, they really emphasized that there was a place for everybody,” sophomore Anna Haley said. “Red Lick Middle School is very different from Texas Middle School so being assured that there is a place for everyone here was nice.”
On the tour, students are presented with many different extracurricular groups, from drill team and cheer to e-sports and leadership, in order for them to get an idea of the different organizations they can join once on campus.
“[On the tour] you’re gonna see everything,” Haley said. “They don’t just show you athletic and dance buildings but also photography, e-sports and they even mention all the different clubs students have access to.”
Once paired up with either a former Red Lick student or a leadership student, the eighth graders are given a personal tour which includes the generic tour as well as being taken to any area on campus that sparks their interest.
“When I toured, I liked being able to tour more one-on-one rather than the eighth grade tour held with everyone else,” Haley said. “It felt more personal and wasn’t so overwhelming.”
The tour is organized by Associate Principal of College and Career Readiness Betty Stark every year with leadership teacher Susan Waldrep creating the schedule. Keeping the idea in mind that coming to this large school can be scary, they accommodate to make them feel comfortable. The tour is a way to get students excited about Texas High, which might be their new school, and a way to provide information in a fun and personal way.
“This year THS culinary arts prepared street tacos for us, and they were awesome. We played games and had a tailgate party in the Multipurpose building after the tour,” Stark said. “Some of our THS students even went to the eighth grade Red Lick Mustangs basketball game that night to cheer on their new friends.”
