Over 300 rising freshmen and new students attended New Student Orientation Day on August 22, 2024. 

As the students walked in, they were assigned teams with various colors.

The day began with a speech in the auditorium, where students met their team leaders and peers. Then, each team split off to explore the school as part of a guided tour. SCA representatives, athletes, and club leaders volunteered to lead the groups through their first day at Ocean Lakes.

The tour ended with a visit to the cafeteria, where students had the opportunity to learn more about the various extracurricular activities and clubs available for them to join. Each of the posters and booth displays were handmade by the club members and sponsors. The Society of Women Engineers Club (SWEnext) built a detailed structure out of Jenga blocks to showcase the engineering aspect of their organization.

Other clubs had live demonstrations relating to their theme. For example, the Scholastic Bowl team asked sample questions to new students in order to simulate a typical competition experience. At the Model UN table, students were tasked with guessing which country a flag belonged to, with rubber ducks as a reward to those who guessed correctly.

In all, dozens of booths were set up, with club leaders and sports captains representing their activities in traditional Ocean Lakes attire.

“Something I really enjoyed about freshman orientation was being able to see all the different clubs and opportunities available to us for these next four years,” said freshman Cormac Worrall.