The entire eighth grade poured into the auditorium on Monday, April 6. It was time for the Kick Start Kickoff. Kick Start is a weeklong adventure that the eighth graders take. It helps them get ready for high school, college, finding a career, and beyond. Each year, a Kick Start Star is chosen. The star is a positive role model in the community.

This year, Mrs. Jo-an Lantz was the star, and she came to our school to talk to us on Monday. She told stories about her journey as a girl who wanted to go to college, and about taking risks, such as snowboarding down an extremely steep mountain. She talked about traveling the world, and trying new things that would make her job more exiting. Also speaking at the Kickoff was Principal of LHS and a panel of students who talked about getting involved and taking early college classes. I think that as all of the students left, they were feeling good about entering LHS next year.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were the days when the field trip happened. On Tuesday, team 83 got to go on their trip. Wednesday, team 82 went, and Thursday, team 81 went. The day started when the team went down to the auditorium and listened to Miss Cyr, residential director at CMCC, speak about college, and how it is okay to change your major. Then we took buses to CMCC and took a tour there. After that, we went to Bates and had a delicious meal. From Bates, we walked to the middle school where we were split into two groups. One group went to the Library and played the Get a Life Game. The other group went to the auditorium and did a few activities about first impressions, with Andrew Harris. The team kept on moving from there. They went to the Lewiston Regional Technical Center and got to learn about two classes they picked out. As the buses pulled into the Middle School for the last time, I think that the students had a better idea of what to expect next, and all of the years following. Kick Start was a huge help!