By Brendan Lane ’20

Since arriving at 3C Week in August, the freshman class has been adjusting to life at Chaminade. Making new friends, finding out what clubs to join, and handling the schoolwork are challenges for all freshmen at the start of their high school career. One of the ways Chaminade helps the freshmen adjust to a new school is Freshman Homeroom Night, a night during which homerooms compete in games, eat tons of pizza, and make lasting memories.

Freshman Homeroom Night is a Chaminade tradition that has always been an integral part of the freshman year experience. “It has been done for as long as people remember,” said Mr. Gregory Gerner ’10. “Freshmen have always referred back to Homeroom Night as one of their best memories of freshman year.”

Homeroom-versus-homeroom competition is always the highlight of the night.  Students compete in European handball, dodgeball, and basketball. The fierce competition for homeroom pride rages as the night progresses, and the unifying spirit of the games helps to build a sense of camaraderie among the students in each homeroom. “The games allow us to work together, which brought us closer together as friends,” said Joseph Mauro ’22.

Half-way through the night, all the homerooms gather in the cafeteria to eat all the pizza and soda they want from the Cugini’s Pizzeria and Restaurant, famous among Chaminade students. The students devour pies ravenously at each and every Homeroom Night. The simple meal is yet another chance for students to meet new people and socialize within their homerooms.

 At then end of the night, the freshmen cool off with a dip in the pool. The kids line up as fast as they can to be first in line for the high dive board, which many have not stopped thinking about ever since they saw it at Chaminade’s Open House. The students then compete against each other to see who has the best dive or most powerful belly flop!

Starting freshman year at Chaminade can be a difficult transition, but Freshman Homeroom Night makes the process much easier. The night helps the students come out of their collective shells together. The competition, eating, and swimming break the ice among students and give them something to share together for the next four years. “I got to interact with people from my homeroom that I haven’t had a chance to meet,” said Joseph Mauro. By the end of the night, the students have evolved from being nervous “new kids” to feeling as though they belong to an extended family–the Chaminade family.

Homeroom Night stands out in the minds of all Chaminade students as one of their best memories from high school because students began to build the foundation of life-long friendships starting at Chaminade.  Even the Monday after Homeroom Night, students are already reminiscing about their experience, sharing funny moments that they’ll never forget from that Friday night in fall.

This year, Chaminade hosts four different homerooms nights. There have already been two nights in September, on the 21st and 28th, and there will be two more in October.  Homerooms 1C, 1D, 1E, and 1J embark on their Homeroom Night experience on October 5th, and homerooms 1F, 1G, and 1N have their night on October 19th.