By Elizabeth Witek, Staff Writer

As the new school year began, the Student Council worked hard to get the “Big Sister-Little Sister” program up and running for the incoming freshmen class. This program sets up a mentorship and friendship between the older and younger students, pairing this year’s juniors with the new freshmen while the seniors and sophomores continue to foster their relationship begun last year.  

The idea came to life in the fall of 2015, and former president of the Class of 2019, Kathryn Ortenzio, helped develop the program. “The Big Sister-Little Sister program was designed to provide both the lower and upperclassmen with a friend, tutor and mentor throughout her years at Trinity Hall. We wanted to develop a close knit relationship between the grades, emphasizing on the sisterhood that everyone finds here,” Ortenzio said.

In late September, the junior class gathered during their class meeting to receive the names of their little sisters. “I was very anxious when trying to find my big sister,” freshman Skylar Abbey said. “Although I was really excited, I also really wanted to find out who she was!”

While the freshmen appeared to be nervous, the juniors were excited to be on the giving end of the program for the first time. “After two years of having a big sister, I was really excited to get my little sisters! I hope that I can share my knowledge that my big sister gave me over my first two years at Trinity Hall,” said junior Taryn McKeever.

The Classes of 2017 and 2019 set many traditions for the program to follow through the upcoming years. Those include set dates where the classes would eat lunch together, discussing classes and other interests, creating “AP Survival Kits” filled with candy and other treats for after their tests, and a class favorite –  “Open when…” letters, containing pieces of advice, movie recommendations, and playlists to listen to, written by the Class of 2019 to send their big sisters off to college.

The Class of 2018 will continue to have the same little sisters from the previous year. As they approach their final year together, students are highly anticipating more activities to get closer with one another. “I am most looking forward to getting to know my little sisters more and giving them advice that they can use throughout their high school career. I hope there are more activities we can do with them and I can get closer with them as it is our last year together!” senior CC Jakub said.

The Student Council is looking forward to implementing more activities for the students as well. “There has already been a lot of discussion about new activities between the classes, and we’re very excited to see them play out over the course of the year,” senior class president Gina Rienzo said.