The CTE building is decorated with colorful banners, splotched with paint stains and interactive tables. The Health-Science table has a sheep brain displayed in a jar oozing in a murky liquid, welding set up a blowtorch brandished and smoldered by its heavy use and Audio Visual Productions showcased various sets of camera and equipment that engaged students.
Feb. 6 was the annual 8th grade visit, where incoming Stiles and Wiley students were able to view what elective classes are offered. The event was organized by Associate Principal Stratton Brown, with help from CTE head and FCCLA sponsor Jodi Garner.
“Our programs rely heavily on recruitment, and the best way to recruit kids is to get current students in front of the incoming ones to show them how awesome the programs are,” Garner said. “I absolutely loved the setups, the tables and all of the things [everybody was] able to do with those 8th graders.”
Ninety three students from PALS, Ready Set Teach and StuCo were tour guides that showed the 682 8th graders around the campus in 31 groups.
“The impact that [the tours] had was just to allow them to get to know Rouse for the next four years,” senior Carter May said. “They get to know where all of the electives are [and] what they can take. It was just broad information that we presented to them to get their attention [by] showing and telling all of the areas of the school. “
Contrarily, the table volunteers were selected by teachers to represent their classes and explain what each course will offer for new students. They had the opportunity during 5th and 6th period to stand by their booths as well as volunteer at Future Exploration Night, which occurred later that night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
“We had a system set up about who could answer certain questions about certain classes,” senior Sudith Marti said. “We had some freshmen answer questions about the Principles of Business class, while I was able to help out about the higher level business courses.”
The visit intends to make the transition from middle school to high school as smooth and stress-free as possible.
“High school can be so overwhelming when looking at the choice sheet,” Garner said. “Any sort of guidance we can give to the kiddos to choose the right classes from the beginning is what we were looking at.”
With an exponentially-growing population each year, the school anticipates more growth than any other high school in the district for the 2025-2026 school year.
“I hope that our kiddos in general really love talking to the next generation,” Garner said. “We want their true passion to shine through no matter what they’re doing. This is just a little taste of what they can achieve once they leave us and move onto bigger and better things.”
Video by Natalie Erzal.