A sophomore walks into the school the week of Oct. 14 and Nov. 21 and is welcomed with “Fall Fest” flyers posted all around the hallways.
Continuing from Oct. 14 through Nov. 21, MCHS is having their Fall Fest not only at the Freshman Campus, but it has been brought to the Upper Campus. Fall Fest began three years ago, and this is the first time the UC has ever had something like this.
“It’s essentially an incentive to get students over the slump,” director of student activities Mitch Stengel says. “We see attendance, grades, work completion all drop between the months of October and November. This is an effort to combat that and incentivize students.”
According to the CDC, “About 40% of teens reported persistent feelings of sadness/hopelessness in 2023, down from 42% in 2021 but still significantly higher than 30% in 2013, according to the report.”
“I was very passionate about bringing Fall Fest over to the UC because I believe that the building is separated and isolated,” Upper Campus principal Greg Eiserman says. “Even our staff feels like there’s teachers they don’t see the entire school year.”
Since elementary and middle schools do trimesters, this time of year is not only tough because of the colder months coming through, but students typically aren’t used to doing semesters and having that extra month before finals.
“It’s going to take a couple years to get where we want,” Eiserman says. “I think having Mr. Sterner and I, aligned between both campuses, helps us have a similar view of education.”
Fall Fest is an opportunity to try and get both campuses closer together by focusing on one academic achievement.
“This building [UC] is really tough to get to every single kid,” Stengel says. “We are working on promoting Fall Fest throughout the next few weeks to make sure every kid knows what this all means to MCHS.”
About 85% of students at the UC, have at least one missing assignment. Which is why this year’s Fall Fest is focusing on the completion of assignments.
“When we talk to teachers, in our big tier one team,” Eiserman says. “Every single teacher is saying that they can’t get students to turn stuff in. Fall Fest is a little bit all over the board with assignments because we want to make an impact on grades and on big tests like the ACT.”
As the next few weeks roll by, be sure to check out for an email regarding Fall Fest.
Once the last week of November takes its turn, students will gather around in the cafeteria to enjoy ice cream and face paint, along with getting the opportunity to pie staff members in the face.