Students and parents new to Jim Thorpe Area High School got a chance to get acquainted with the faculty and take a tour of the facilities on Friday.

The orientation for incoming freshman and transfers featured a panel of current seniors and juniors offering honest, heartfelt advice to the new students."We have our panel of experts over here, and they'll tell you about their high school experience," principal Thomas Lesisko said."They'll tell you about their challenges, and they'll tell you about how they found success."Common suggestions included keeping on top of homework, joining sports teams and extracurricular clubs, and breaking out of your comfort zone to embrace all that the school has to offer."I didn't go to L.B. Morris or Penn Kidder in grade school, so I came into Jim Thorpe High School not knowing very many people at all," senior Natalia Richards told the crowd."I joined the basketball team, it made me familiar with a lot of new faces. Make sure you guys get involved, meet new people. Everyone is very welcoming, from the staff to other students, so if you guys need anything, we're all here for you on the first day."The student liaisons then offered tours of the building to the groups, allowing the freshman and transfers to get a look at the grounds before the first day of school.This year, several teachers were present for the tour, helping students put faces to the names on the doors."It's great. It give the students' perspective, which is probably more accurate, coming from someone who's done it recently. It's a great program, it makes the kids more comfortable," Jim Thorpe parent Lisa Gullone said during the tour.Tour leaders like senior Jackie Condly, 17, offered some valuable inside information that administration and staff might not address, from the best water fountains to the necessary travel time between hallways."You have five minutes to get to all of your classes. If you know where you're going, that saves a lot of time. Teachers tell you to go the bathroom before class, but you do not have time to go to the bathroom before class, but they like to tell you to do it anyway," Condly said to her group near the tour's conclusion."They did a good job of explaining things, doing a tour of the school," Daniel Teets, 14, said.Intern Candace Olson held a short presentation for the freshmen and transfers on what to expect back at the auditorium.While she did dispel any fears of younger students get stuffed into lockers or into the garbage, she also broke the news that the average school day wouldn't recreate High School Musical, either.One of the more challenging elements for all Jim Thorpe students this year is the transition to the fusion schedule, but in this case, Olson said, the newbies actually have an edge over returning students."We have the fusion schedule, which is a block and a regular, traditional schedule combined into one," Olson said."You guys actually have the advantage for this, because sophomores, juniors, and seniors are coming back to school and making the change, and they're not used to it, where you're starting fresh."It offers the standard schedule, which you're all used to, but it offers one block class a week, which allows more project time, more classroom time, work time, and independent time."Students also got a chance to a bit of the chaos of the first week by registering and receiving their new laptops, courtesy of the Project OLE (Olympian One-to-One Learning Environment) program."It's been going well so far, I think the students are excited to get their laptops early this year," Eric Hill, assistant IT coordinator, said.While the line out of the tech room did stretch throughout the common area, staff members kept everything flowing."It was definitely hectic, but it's a better thing, because on the first day of school, you're all ready, prepared to do stuff for your classes," freshman Karsten Gray, 14, said after getting her laptop registered.Despite the pressure and anxiety associated with day one at a new school, one piece of Olson's presentation perfectly summed up the attitude of Jim Thorpe Area High School, and the friendly nature of the students, teachers, and staff toward newcomers."I love 'Harry Potter,' so I kind of stole one of the books' quotes," she said. "You will find that help will always be given at Jim Thorpe to those who ask for it.'"