Year after year, there is nothing that brings out the spirit in Prepsters like Halloween. All manner of costumes streamed into the classrooms, a day early this year, since the actual celebration is on an In-Service Day. On this day, upperclassrmen generally lead the way, with freshmen almost always dealing from a position of restraint. The older and more experienced hands, with a couple of years of additional education under their belts, often go for more subtle references in their costumes— how many frosh, for instance, knew Carmen Miranda when they saw her?

>>> last year's Halloween

EARLY DAYS

A breezy October 14 provided a chance for the Freshman Class of 2007 homerooms to match up in a day of competition, and an opportunity for the newest members of the Seton Hall Prep student body to get to know each other a little better. Volleyball, football, tug-of-war, team problem-solving and relay races were all part of the fare. Opinions differed as to whether the pizza party for the winner or simple bragging rights were more important.

The Class of 2007 made its first appearance at the Prep on Orientation Day. There they met their Peer Leaders [see below], who will conduct their homerooms and help them become an integral part of the Prep Community.

The groups received a variety of materials, including schedules, books, gym uniforms, locks and handbooks. In addition they toured the school, found their lockers and got their first shot at learning the ropes from their senior Big Brothers.

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET...

Just before the rains came that drenched the beginning of the school year , the 2003-04 edition of the Peer Leadership Program took advantage of three glorious days of weather to hold their three-day workshop-retreat at the Fairview YMCA center near Stillwater in northern New Jersey.

The job of the Peer Leaders is an important one, and one that requires the staying power of a full year's committment. Their principal job is to shepherd the 260 newest members of the school community, the Freshman Class of 2007, through the trials and tribulations of their first year of high school. As a Big Brother to 15 or so frosh, the seniors need to be ready to deal with the sometimes thorny issues that confronted themselves only a few short years ago. Consequently they undergo a program of team building, and leadership skills and activities. They finish off their stay with the difficult task of forming the 2-man teams that will lead each freshman homeroom. The knock-down drag-em-out conference went for three hours, but they eventually negotiated themselves 21 pairs of personalities that would lead their charges through their first year at the Prep.

[last year's Peer Leadership program>>>]

SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAM GROWING

The final numbers tell a lot about how much the Summer Enrichment Program has grown recently. Only a couple of years ago the program began with less than a dozen students in only a handful of classes. This past June and July, 101 students were enrolled in 10 classes, in "full-year" credited courses ranging from Computers and Multimedia, Journalism, and Psychology to Physics, Mathematics and Ecology.

The school installed air conditioners to lessen the effects of the summer heat, and the casual atmosphere of the summer sessions did not prevent everyone from knuckling down to the intensive work that paid off in excellent grades.

[see the 2003 program >>>]