Hobbies And Interests
Travel
A travel theme gives a good opportunity to guide students over the high school area as well as adding some educational value to the orientation. Each part of the school represents a country, and students have to visit all of them to get to a souvenir at the end. Issue tickets in the beginning of the hunt, which have to be traded in for transfers at the individual stations, or airports. Give out clues with scrambled letters that have to be put in the right order as representation for foreign language studies, or ask the freshmen to find letters in books in the library that together will shape the name of the next destination.
Movies
Movies are a topic all teenagers are interested in, and you can get the entire high school involved by asking students to dress up as film stars and characters for orientation day to give the freshmen a good start. For the scavenger hunt, divide the school buildings into various film genres, including romance, adventure, film noir, science fiction and thriller. Ask the students, among others, to act out a famous scene, name five film titles that are based on the lives of famous scientists, or find books in the library that have been made into movies. The scavenger hunt will not only assist students in bonding with each other, but also present the school as a place to have fun.
Environment
Use orientation day to raise awareness about environmental issues and present the school as having a responsible profile in preserving nature and recycling materials. Give clues about climate change, pollution or local environmental challenges. Tasks can include hugging a tree on the school grounds, locating all of the bins around the buildings, or sorting a heap of mixed materials into recyclable and nonrecyclable matter. Students can also be challenged to make crafts from old newspapers, plastic containers or empty cans. Spread out the activities all over the school grounds to give the freshmen the opportunity to get to know the buildings as well.
Historical
Use a scavenger hunt to provide the students with information about the school you otherwise would have given in an orientation lecture or speech. Spread stations around the buildings and grounds that will not only ask students to perform tasks or solve clues, but also give information about the school's history. Name the stations after U.S. presidents, or important historical events such as the Vietnam War, and combine it with information, including well-known local or national alumni who have attended the school, significant achievements by previous students or features the school is particularly proud of. Quests for clues can include general knowledge questions in various courses of study, such as history, literature, arts and science.