Photo courtesy of Heritage’s Instagram
Showcase night is an annual event that takes place every fall, giving prospective 9th graders the opportunity to experience what Heritage has to offer in the form of games, an activities fair, and a tour of the school.
This event is largely facilitated by LINK Leaders. That is one major difference between Showcase Night and the multiple shadow days that take place multiple times throughout the year, with shadow days being solely led by our ambassadors. “The kids are sorted into groups with 2-3 LINK Leaders each as they move through different stations throughout the night,” says Charlotte Jones ‘27. The other key difference is that Showcase Night takes place outside of a normal school day, meaning that while the 8th graders tour the school, the classrooms are empty. This differs from the shadow day experience of seeing class in session, but this can be an advantage. During shadow days, the 8th graders touring classrooms are often silent, meant to simply observe, but during showcase night, “These same students get the opportunity and are often encouraged to ask both students and teachers more in depth questions because the students aren’t doing classwork, and the teachers aren’t teaching,” LINK leader Alyna Rivera ‘27 explains.
The Heritage classrooms then become almost like museum exhibits, with the kids rotating between them while touring them at the same time. “They get to explore the ins and outs of places such as the Woodshop, where they would otherwise be told to stay back while students are working during shadow days, while having fun at the same time through socializing with their friends or future peers at Heritage,” Jones adds.
A station outside of exploring the school took place in the main gym, where the various clubs at Heritage each set up their own tables with information about their activities. For example, Art Club utilized their table by placing a blank piece of paper and asking the 8th graders to draw whatever they wanted. This is an additional method to encourage 8th graders to choose Heritage, showing various ways of how they can get involved.
Overall, Showcase Night was a success, with the eighth graders and their families filled with knowledge of what being a student at Heritage entails at the end of a fun-filled evening.