“What’s the point?” Head of the Upper School Butch Keller asked students during Matriculation on August 22. Speeches by Keller, Head of School Christopher Nikoloff, and ASB president Revanth Kosaraju (12) were meant to inspire not only the incoming freshman class, but also the rest of the student body to pursue their dreams, respect one another, and have the desire to learn.

Nikoloff referred to The Wizard of Oz as an analogy to assure students that they have the competence to achieve great feats and have control over their futures.
“A piece of paper could not give [the tin man, the scare crow, the lion, and Dorothy] what they already have,” he said, alluding to the students’ hearts, knowledge, and courage.
Aside from the speeches, Matriculation also entailed “Freshmen 101,” a humorous skit performed by the student council to welcome the class of 2015 to high school. The skit covered basic information, including freshman year spirit rallies and senior year college applications, that students need to know when entering a new chapter in their lives.
“I liked the skit; it was fun and exciting,” Srivinay Irrinki (9) said. “It looks like it’s going to be a good year and the overall experience of high school is going to be fun.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Lin (9), a student new to the school, feels as though the skit alleviated his anxiety for the school year; however, he is still nervous yet excited for the different environment.

“I don’t know what’s coming up. Everybody just seems to be together and in a sense of community,” he said.

Though she has experienced Matriculation before, Anika Gupta (10) still finds the ceremony entertaining and enjoys watching what ASB has to say to the students.
“I think it is interesting how they incorporate the skit and the honor code and the speeches. Overall, I think it is a really good way to come back to the school year,” she said.
Anika is also looking forward to starting fresh and trying new activities as the school year commences.

For upperclassman Patricia Huang (11), Matriculation seems to be a smooth transition from summer to school.
“I think it’s [useful] for new students and freshmen,” she said.

Furthermore, senior Mark Taboada expresses his enthusiasm to begin his last year in high school.
“I was a lot more excited for [Matriculation] because it’s my last one,” he said.

Not all the students, however, thought that the ceremony was entertaining and helpful.
“It was kind of like the same thing every year. We just sit there when they talk about honor and they tell us about the dress code and then tell us again the next day,” Kevin Mohanram (10) said.

Additionally, Neda Ghaffarian (12) thought that the wait for the freshmen to process was a little too long.

Officially marking the beginning of the school year, the ceremony began with introductory speeches and ended with the faculty’s departure as the administration and student council strived to motivate the students to reach their limits and push themselves like never before.