Author : West Foster

For students, the school day ended at 12:40pm on a Thursday, September 29, but parents soon took their place.

The new school year had begun. It was time for the parents to discover what was to come. During passing period, the hallways were full of fundraising by Impact Leaders, ASB guides, Tennis and Track & Field student-athlete recruiters, German and Spanish club members, enthusiastic teachers, and anxious parents. Senior Sarah McPherson said, “There was an insane amount of parents and students who participated in Back to School Night,” she said, “We were able to sell a large amount of cookies to raise money for Impact and better support the freshmen.”

The Impact leaders sold cookies to provide a better assortment for the freshmen. As parents raced from one classroom to the next, ASB students stood by as available escorts. German students raised money for classroom supplies by selling German treats and pastries. Spanish students persuaded parents to enjoy hot Starbucks’ coffee.

While the majority of parents found comfort in the student desks and teachers began their lectures, students, such as senior Haylie McDonald, took time to relax and take advantage of the school night to spend time with friends. “In between class periods our Impact class played and learned amusing games and silly dances until the parents came out of their classrooms. We then went right back to business,” she explained.

Once Back to School Night came to a close, the hallways were deserted. While freshmen students and their parents prepared themselves for four more years of “back to school nights”, senior students and their parents realized that it was the end to the past 12-13 years of “back to school nights”. The 2011-2012 Back to School Night impacted the student body through fundraising and community support, while parents established their first impressions on the progressing school year.

When the lunch bell rang on October 6, students rushed out the doors of their classes and made their way to the area outside the ASB room. Students from all grade levels swarmed around the lunch tables, trying to decide which clubs to sign up for.

A continuing tradition at Tesoro, Club Rush brings almost the entire school together at one big event. With a total of 80 clubs to manage, ASB started planning a month before the set date. “We had so much to do. We had to assign tables and everything possibly needed to showcase the clubs. Now we can finally enjoy the fruits of our labor. It’s so cool to see the students of Tesoro get all excited and involved in these causes,” said ASB president of clubs Rachael Conrad. Along with ASB members, the leaders of the clubs themselves also spent time making posters, banners, buttons, and anything else they believed would catch their fellow students’ attention.

Even before making posters and banners, club leaders had to fill out an application and attend an informational meeting held a week before Club Rush. “There had to be meetings. We had to design the layout of the quad, find out who was bringing what, and spend hours going through the list of clubs,” said sophomore Jessica Redden, the ASB vice president of clubs.