It can be tough for incoming high school freshman to transition from being big fish in a little pond to little fish in a very big, very daunting ocean. That’s why on Sept. 25, the Dartmouth High School freshmen mentors gathered with the freshmen for a special cookout.

Students are initially selected by the Dartmouth High School Dean of Students for the mentor program. Throughout the summer, the mentors are trained by Kick-Off, a national organization dedicated to innovative school transition, and are readied to act as a support system for incoming freshmen.

The mentors connected with their assigned freshmen over the summer and on the day before the school year began, freshmen were invited to a Freshman Kick-Off day where mentors helped them orient themselves for the coming semester. Mentors engaged the freshmen with get-to-know-you games and tours of the school, their homerooms, and their lockers.

Now a month into the school year, today’s Fall Freshman Cookout was a day for freshmen and their mentors to touch base with each other and for freshmen to celebrate their acclimation to high school life. The lunch schedules were adjusted to make sure it was primarily freshmen and their mentors enjoying lunch together.

“It’s a way to say ‘hey, congratulations guys, you did it,’” said Dean of Students Mike Martin. “‘Hopefully, you feel like you’re part of this school.’”

By now, freshmen are more readily involved in athletics and co-curricular activities so the shared lunch served as a way to remind the freshmen that their mentors are still available to them and that they should be as involved in school activities as possible.

The freshmen mentor program is wildly popular amongst Dartmouth High students as well as incoming freshmen. About 95 percent of freshmen participate in the Kick-Off programs every year, said Martin.

“We’re all part of that long history of Dartmouth High School,” he said. “ We build them into that history and tradition.”

The most important part of the mentor program is it gives the freshmen a sense of belonging. They’re actively referred to as the “Class of 2019” instead of just as freshmen, as it gives them a greater sense of belonging, said Martin.

The Dean of Student Life gets huge numbers of applications from upperclassmen who want to be mentors. Because of the high number of applicants, it’s important to accept students of a wide variety, said Martin.

“We don’t just want the kids who are team captain… We have a lot of good kids,” said Martin.

Instead, teachers provide mentor nominations which are narrowed down by the mentor committee.

Year after year, there is always a much higher volume of applicants than there are mentor positions so those who are not accepted can still be listed as transfer mentors for students who may transfer to Dartmouth High during the year.

Martin is very proud of the events they hold that help bring the student body together and make individuals feel at home when they’re at school.

“We’re not just all about MCAS scores…” said Martin. “We care about the [students] and the social-emotional connections they make.”