The West Salem High School gym was full of song, dance and cheer Tuesday morning as Titans pulled out the stops to welcome freshmen to their new school.
After receiving their schedules in the school commons, freshmen filed to the gym for an assembly that included a performance from the school’s cast of “Between the Lines,” West’s fall musical.
Four freshmen volunteered to compete in a live Hungry Hungry Hippos, laying on rolling stools as older classmates pushed them, wheelbarrow-style, into the center of the gym to collect balls as quickly as they could.
“I feel excited, and everything the kids are feeling,” Principal Carlos Ruiz said as he stood in the commons, greeting students. He said one of his goals for the assembly was to convey that however students feel, they’re welcome at school.
West’s Class of 2028 is about 480 students, Ruiz said. Tuesday was intended to help them get oriented before classes began for all high schoolers Wednesday.
“The goal is to make sure the kids get familiar with the space,” he said.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.
