Benilde-St. Margaret’s Freshman Cup is in full swing for the second year in a row. Each week every ninth grade homeroom battles it out for the hope of being awarded the “Freshman Cup” at the end of the year. Although this competition is still fairly new, it has already proved to enhance connections amongst the freshman class.
Originally, BSM Link Crew Leaders would go visit their respective freshman homerooms and chat with the ninth graders, asking if they had any questions, concerns, or needed help with anything. Link Crew leaders have always done such a fantastic job on freshman orientation day, showing what life at BSM feels like and helping create a bond between the freshman class right off the bat. However after orientation day passed, something then felt missing through the rest of the year.
Two years ago, BSM Link Crew advisor and math teacher John Groess came up with the idea for the Freshman Cup. The reason Groess thought to implement a year-round activity is because orientation day is always a highlight, but after that there was nothing exciting or engaging going on the rest of the year.
Now, BSM Link Crew Leaders visit their freshman homerooms every Tuesday for an in class activity or a grade activity in the gym. The objective during these challenges is to work together as a homeroom, earn the most points and be awarded the “Freshman Cup” trophy at the end of the year. “We wanted something to… continue to have the ninth graders build an identity as a homeroom. I also think it’s really important that every grade has something special for them. And so being kind of in charge of the ninth graders, I wanted to do something for them. So that’s what it is. And that’s how we’re trying to grow it,” Groess said.
While the three Link Crew advisors (Groess, Max Johnson, and Jennifer Bevington) and all of the Link Crew Leaders feel the freshman cup is very successful, some members of the ninth grade community have a different view. Freshmen often do not know anyone or anything about BSM, it is a great time to branch out and start to build relationships. However, as the school year goes on the freshman start to get the hang of BSM life and the freshman cup tends to get repetitive and not as enjoyable. As it has already been five weeks of the competition, freshman Luella Curry has mixed feelings about this event. “I think the freshmen cup is a really fun way to meet new people in your grade and other classmates. So far it has been good but I don’t know if we necessarily need it once we start to get to know each other better… By the end of the year, I feel like we won’t really need it much anymore,” Curry said.
Link Crew Leaders and advisors are always looking for new ways to improve and expand upon the Freshman Cup. One improvement Morissettee suggested for next year is to only do activities once a month. “The only thing I would do differently is make it more spread out or like once a month, because sometimes like having it in every homeroom or once a week can be a lot and I just want to do my homework,” Morissettee said.
Out of the many activities the freshman class participates in, the highlight event so far has been the Fruit Roll-Up challenge. Each homeroom elected one member to stand in front of the whole grade and eat a Fruit Roll-up as fast as they can without any hands. With every ninth grader cheering and supporting their fellow classmates, the energy was editorializing and showed all the freshmen that they are all in this together. Freshman Julia Morrissette stood in the bleachers and helped cheer her homeroom to victory. “I thought it was a turning point for our class. [When] everyone was supporting one another and standing in that gym, it felt like I was a part of a community… It felt like we were all in it together, even though I was not physically doing the challenge,” Morissettee said.
Overall the Freshman Cup is highly enjoyed throughout the freshman class. Many love the ability to connect and work with others who they might not necessarily be friends with. The Freshman Cup is a new BSM tradition that will be part of the community for a long time. “It’s a great way to meet new freshmen and get to know your Link Crew leaders,” Morissettee said.