Being a new student at a high school as big as EHS can be a daunting experience. The transition can be especially hard, so students new to the district were welcomed to the annual new student breakfast last week.

The breakfast, a tradition of over five years, allows new students to interact with other new students as well as become acquainted with their counselors, Dr. Cramsey and student leaders.

Sophomore D’marria Slaughter attended the breakfast on Friday morning. Slaughter moved from Madison after hearing about the variety of music opportunities at EHS.

“I want to join Chamber Singers just to see what that’s all about, and I would like to try something different for once,” Slaughter said.

Senior Rebecca Morrison trekked across the river from Hillsboro High School.

Morrison feels she has been challenged more academically since coming to EHS and has enjoyed the friendliness of the teachers and faculty even with the number of people at the high school.

“EHS has about five times the amount of  students as my old school. I honestly think I’ve transitioned very well in to this school considering the drastic change,” Morrison said.

Others in attendance at the breakfast, such as freshmen Libby Bateman and Meghan Dustmann, transferred into the district from local, small private schools.

“I came from Trinity Lutheran in Edwardsville. EHS is a lot different from my old school. At Trinity, we only had 64 kids in the entire middle school, and only 15 kids in my graduating class,” Bateman said. “Now I’m in classes with 30-32 kids in them…It’s a new, but pleasant change.”

Dustmann, who attended St. Peter’s Lutheran in Prairietown, has enjoyed the transition to such a large school.

“[The transition] wasn’t bad at all. Over the summer I did a few sports camps at the high school and met a lot of new people that I’m friends with now…” Dustmann said. “I like this many kids way better. It’s a lot more fun and there’s so many more people to meet and become friends with.”