By JESSA PEASE / Staff Writer 

PELHAM— To ease the anxieties of the first day of high school for freshmen, Pelham High School will hold an orientation called Camp Pelham Aug. 10 from 9-11 a.m. The 282 freshmen will be able to get acquainted to the school, the teachers and administrators.

In the past, Pelham has charged $25 for orientation and had a pep rally for the students, but Pelham High School principal Dr. Jason Yohn said they thought it would be more beneficial to have the students visit while the teachers were also at the school.

“We’ll bring them into the lunchroom and have a little orientation, and then we will hand them their schedules and give them an opportunity to walk around and get the lay of the land a little bit,” Yohn said. “This place is kind of confusing, from a footprint standpoint, if you don’t know where you are going.”

Students will hear from Yohn, both of Pelham High School’s assistant principals and the counselor at orientation.

“The big thing is, they need to understand what we expect here,” Yohn said. “How we do things will become apparent pretty quickly for them. They’ll get a bigger, more in-depth conversation once school gets started.”

About 900 students total will be at Pelham High School Aug. 12 for the first day of school. Yohn said last year, the freshman didn’t get to meet many of their teachers because the summer went by fast and there were a lot of changes going on.

Yohn said the high school is doing some things in students’ schedules this year to produce some high quality students and student leaders moving forward through the four-year high school experience. In addition to leadership classes, the school has made some other changes.

They will be implementing about nine academic academies within the school. Yohn said the biology and engineering academies are popular this year with about 250 students enrolled.

Pelham High will also be moving to a different course schedule with a modified block schedule. Students will take nine classes total, seeing each of their teachers three times a week. Class periods will last 82 minutes.

For more information about Pelham High School, visit Phs.pelhamcityschools.org.