CCHS holds Dawghouse Welcome for incoming freshmen
By PAMELA GRANT
Cove Leader-Press
Copperas Cove High School (CCHS) held their annual Dawghouse Welcome on Monday, inviting incoming freshmen and their families to tour the school and learn a bit more about what to expect in their upcoming school year.
They had two sessions available to families, one which started at 9 a.m. and the other which started at 2 p.m. Sessions started with a welcome followed by staff talking with students about what they can expect, rules, and more. The freshmen were split into groups led by upperclassmen who lead the freshmen and families on a tour of the school highlighting areas and important locations. The tour ended in Gym 2 where they were invited to meet and greet more than 30 different clubs available at the high school ranging from HOSA to choir to various sports teams and more, each eager to attract new members. All incoming freshmen were invited to sign their class’s banner and pick up a free class t-shirt.
9th grade assistant principal Dr. Amber Loubiere started the 2 p.m. session by talking to the students about dress code, the bell schedule, different lunch designations, the importance of attendance and more.
“The Dawghouse Welcome is an opportunity to welcome our freshmen to campus,” said Dr. Loubiere. “It’s a great opportunity to connect to the Bulldawg family. They get a campus t-shirt for free. All of our clubs, organizations, athletics—they can find out what kind of opportunities we offer here. We have everything from Dungeons & Dragons to soccer to robotics. There are lots of great opportunities.”
Dr. Loubiere said that it’s also a great way to establish expectations. She said that the students seemed really excited and she thinks it’s going to be a great year.
The assistant principal added that she loved that the upperclassmen served as the tour guides of the event.
Sebastian Vasquez-Solis, a member of HOSA who will be a junior for the 2023-2024 school year, was one of many upperclassmen volunteers at the event. This was his second year helping out.
“I thought it was fun seeing all the new freshmen,” said Vasquez-Solis. Vasquez-Solis said that he thinks that the Dawghouse Welcome is a great idea.
“This is a big school and it’s kind of intimidating,” said Vasquez-Solis. “It gets easier to navigate with time.”
Vasquez-Solis said that for many of the students, it’s nice getting to have a tour of the school, and he was looking forward to getting to tell some of the freshmen about HOSA.
La’Nise Thomas (14) said that she thought the welcome was “pretty cool” and she was excited by the fact that CCHS has a club specializing in construction.
“I want to be an architect,” said Thomas.
“I am very pleased to see this,” said Thomas’s mother, Shanel Thomas about the Dawghouse Welcome. “There’s so many choices.”
Shanel Thomas said that she was a bit worried about how big the high school is, but she loves how they have so many choices and was excited that they had a construction club that her daughter was excited about.
“I think it’s interesting,” said incoming freshman, Isis Brown. “I think we’re learning our way around the school.”
Brown said that she was thinking about joining a debate club because she thinks arguing is fun.
Brown’s father, Dashaun Brown said that having the tour and the welcome was nice.
“It helps ease us in,” said Dashaun Brown.