On Aug. 31, the High School Student Council (HSSC) hosted its annual Freshman Late Night event, which featured the first varsity volleyball home game of the year as the evening’s highlight. According to HSSC executives, the event was created to assist the incoming Freshman Class transition into high school and to encourage students to support SIS sports teams. HSSC officers also emphasized that the free, freshman-exclusive event aimed to create a lasting first impression of the HSSC on the Freshman Class, and to allow students to enjoy themselves.

“The purpose for the freshmen [at Freshman Late Night] is to have fun and be excited about high school,” said Kendall Sadler, HSSC advisor. “They are new. They got to run around the campus. They got to hang out with their classmates, their friends, and just enjoy one another.”

In line with the theme of assisting the freshman high school transition, this year’s event kicked off with a scavenger hunt, which according to the HSSC, was designed to help students learn their way around the high school building. With clues hidden in locations such as the choir room and Cartnivore, groups of five students found riddles that led them to the next step. Unlike last year’s scavenger hunt, teams needed to complete a special mission at each location—such as drawing self portraits with their non-dominant hands—before moving on. Motivated by prizes like Starbucks gift cards, the freshmen raced to find all the hidden clues and complete the missions before their peers.

“My favorite part of Freshman Late Night was the scavenger hunt, just because it was fun to run around with my friends,” said Yerin Kim (9). “Not only that, but I also enjoyed the scavenger hunt because I felt like a high schooler for the first time, since teachers weren’t supervising us 24/7 like at MSSC events.”

Following a complimentary ice cream break after the scavenger hunt, HSSC officers organized a match of tug of war. The officers divided the students into four groups, allowing students to interact with a more diverse set of classmates. Although they were not paired with their closest friends, the field was full of smiles as the teams played two rounds of four-way tug of war. Subsequently, the teams combined to make two groups that played a bout of the classic version of the game, leaving one team on the turf laughing after a swift rout. Finally, the HSSC challenged the entire Freshman Class in a round, which ended humorously in their crushing defeat.

“Sports are some of the best ways you can start talking to other people and collaborating with them,” said Katherine Suk (9), Freshman HSSC member. “[The HSSC] didn’t want to have skill-based sports, which require skills that leave some people out, but tug of war is just everyone together pulling on a rope and was the most constructive, inclusive solution we thought of.”

a quick meal provided by the HSSC, many students headed downstairs to Tiger Gym 1, where they supported the varsity girls volleyball team in their match against Dwight School Seoul (DSS). Although the game was not a mandatory part of the event like the scavenger hunt or tug of war match, many freshmen still cheered for their upperclassmen’s victory over the DSS team.

“As a JV volleyball player, it was really interesting seeing the varsity team play, especially because it was my first time seeing a SIS varsity game in general,” said Francisco Choi (9), JV volleyball player. “It really inspired me to practice even more and to get better faster so I can join the varsity team next year!”

Following the volleyball game, activity buses departed SIS at 7:00 p.m., marking the end of Freshman Late Night. The event had a solid attendance of around 60 students in total, and many freshmen reflected positively about the event after its conclusion.

“It was really interesting because the quality of the events was something I didn’t really expect out of the student council, as the quality of this experience was superior to that of many other previous school events,” Yerin said. “I think that the organization and planning of events that would suit my grade’s interests was well done, and I hope these kind of events continue throughout the rest of the school year.”