Eighth graders hailing from junior highs within the district will fill the hallways on Jan. 23 and Jan. 24 as they get their first glimpse of high school life.

Tours of FHS will be led by current high school students. The day will also consist of an introduction from principal Jason Urban, a presentation about classes from the guidance department and a student panel led by FHS students designed for eighth-graders to ask any questions they have about the transition to high school.

Senior Spencer Anderson has experience being a counselor. Not only did he lead the eighth-grader tours last year, but he is also a Tiger Fever counselor. Though he is an experienced counselor, Anderson says that challenges still exist.

“The experience was kind of chaotic because we only had one meeting to prepare before the actual tours started,” Anderson said. “It was the first year we did this, and the junior high students were late, causing the tours to be during a passing period, which was a nightmare.”

Even with the chaos of the event, Anderson says that the tour leaders have a clear goal when leading around the eighth graders.

“Our main goal is to make the school feel smaller,” Anderson said. “We do this by giving the eighth graders advice on how to make new friends and assuring them that they are all experiencing the same stress.”

Though Anderson is a veteran, new tour guides will be participating in the event as well. Senior Kyra King, who was also a Tiger Fever facilitator, will be participating in this event for the first time.

“I was not a guide last year. I actually don’t know much about how last year went, but I’m excited to be a part of it this year,” King said. “I think it will help make incoming freshmen less anxious about starting high school.”

Some anxiety for eighth-graders is associated with popularity, cliques and social hierarchy. Senior Lily Frankland tries to help the eighth graders cope with this feeling.

“I always tell the eighth graders that Fishers isn’t like the movies you see about high school,” Frankland said. “Everyone finds their place and no one cares about who’s popular or who you are friends with. It’s an awesome time to find yourself and your passions.”

King also has a piece of advice in order to help the eighth graders and for the day to run smoothly.

“I would tell them to pay attention and listen to what everyone has to say during the event,” King said. “Everything during the day is geared towards getting them more familiar with FHS.”