The first day of school can sometimes be scary, especially if you're a freshman in high school. At Franklin High School, they're welcoming the class of 2021 by featuring the entire class in a music video.
"Today we had two hours to video tape all 400 freshmen doing something," said Gail DeClark, who teaches video production at Franklin High School.
Last year she had the idea to make a music video with the freshmen class and it was such a success, they filmed a new one Tuesday.
"It was a good way to get the kids acclimated to school and not be so afraid of being a freshmen in high school especially a high school this big," said DeClark.
The video took a lot of pre-planning. They blocked out two hours of time on the first day of school and had students group together in their homeroom classes.
Then the students had 20 minutes to come up with something to do in the video.
"At first you're kind of uncomfortable because you don't really know everybody and then you do the video and it's so much fun," said Freshman Julian Provan.
Some students did back flips and showed off dance moves. Others grouped together using props in their classrooms.
"Even though it was just a few seconds, it was cool to see us all come together and cooperate and just make this cool production," said Freshman Ella Mertes.
Several students said they were nervous about their first day of high school, but the music video helped them make friends and open up.
"I think it's pretty cool just because you get to bond with other people and get to know what they're like based on what they do in the video," said Freshman Emily Noyes.
"You get to show your personality to other people and it's easier to make friends I guess," Freshman Vinko Polovic said.
Teachers and staff participate too, hoping to make these new high schoolers feel welcome.
"We do everything we can to make them feel part of the community and not be afraid," said DeClark. "Remember what it was like to be a freshman? It's kinda scary so that's what we're trying to do."
The video will be edited by DeClark and her students over the next week.
