Battle Ground High School

Future Tigers night a hit with incoming freshmen and families

May 28, 2021

More than 115 incoming Battle Ground High School freshmen showed up on Tuesday, May 25 to check out their new school. They were met by staff and student mentors who took them on a tour of the building.

“I love talking to people and I just want everyone to have the best experience here,” said Bethany Tuchardt, a BGHS senior and member of the S.T.R.I.P.E.S. team. “I think it’s a great opportunity to meet people and to build connections with the community that you’re going to spend the next four years in, with the people you love.”

Mentor tours provided a chance to students to hear some personal tips and tricks from others who’ve gone through the sometimes daunting experience of moving from a smaller middle school into a building with a yearly attendance of around 2,000 people.

Gavin Dolan, who’s graduating eighth grade at Tukes Valley Middle School this year, was taking it all in stride.

“School is school. You do school,” he said, while admitting that getting used to the size of his new building and the number of classmates will take a little time. “I think the tour is really helpful. Because if you don’t have the tour and you’re kind of just walking around, it can be pretty confusing.”

Tuchardt said her favorite thing is showing people the quickest ways between classrooms, “because going through the halls during a school day is pretty chaotic and a little stressful, so the tricks and trades of knowing where to go is a small but very helpful thing.”

Dawn Pack, a BGHS school counselor and freshman class advisor, said the mentors “really hit it out of the park.”

“The tour part of our eighth grade open house previously was just an option and not the star of the show,” she added. “I found that taking one or two families at a time around the school was very intimate for the mentors and families.”

Around a quarter of the incoming freshman class took part in the tours. Others tuned in to a Zoom webinar on May 18, which is now available online:

Students and families are also welcome to look through the slides presented during that webinar:

Tuchardt, who is graduating this year, said she’s loved her time as a Tiger.

“I love the community. I love the teachers. Getting to have the same teachers for more than one year has been the best experience ever,” said Tuchardt. “I love how dedicated our principals are to all of us. It’s just a great community to be involved in.”