Sophomore/Freshman Year

High school freshmen face many challenges - a new environment, with new people; increased workload, expectations, responsibilities and freedom. For this reason, at Fenway a great deal of time is directed towards orienting freshmen to the Fenway way. New students attend an orientation in the beginning of summer to start to get to know the school and Fenway's expectations. In September, all new students come in a day earlier than other students to get a head start. Freshmen are introduced to their advisors and get quickly involved in community building activities.

In the first full week of school, all freshmen go on a weeklong trip to Thompson Island. Their time is spent working together, getting to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and finding out about oneself. The Thompson Island trip makes a lasting impression. Many seniors refer back to it when they reflect on their experience at Fenway as a time that prepared them for the long journey they would take to graduation. The things they learned about themselves and their peers during these first few days were seen time and again as they faced challenges throughout their four years at Fenway.

An important part of freshman and sophomore year is the Health and Wellness program that runs through the advisory. During these years as students grow into young adults, new health issues are confronted.. The Health and Wellness advisory program provides an opportunity to learn and discuss issues that students face during adolescence. Activities take advantage of many outside agencies and speakers and are run during advisory assemblies and days set aside that focus on health and wellness.

Sophomore year is the time when students identify a site for and complete 40 hours of community service. This activity is conducted through advisory and is a graduation requirement.