As the start of the school year rolls around once more, the formerly empty halls of Westwood fill again with the chatter of freshmen as they explore the campus and clubs during Fishbowl. 

On Friday, Aug. 11, Fishbowl began with a club fair, where booths and games advertised student organizations to the Class of 2027. Club tables decorated with posters and other eye-catching attractions lined the hallways, demonstrating the variety of organizations offered, and encouraging freshmen to get involved on campus.

“I visited the Active Minds club, as well as the Neuroscience one,” Vedanti Patil ‘27 said. “I’m really interested in psychology and neuroscience, so it was a nice environment [for me] and it felt familiar. ”

In addition to the club displays, pep rally, and dance that followed, one of the main highlights of Fishbowl was also for freshmen to familiarize themselves with the Westwood community by meeting upperclassmen. 

“I think the biggest thing as an upperclassman is to help [the freshmen] figure out that even though Westwood is such a big high school, there [are] still communities here that they can be a part of, and make friends,” Outreach Club Representative Sahiti Oruganti ‘25 said. “Our main role is to make high school not such an intimidating experience for them.”

Before school begins, Fishbowl is a convenient opportunity for students new to the district to not only accustom themselves to their new environment, but also to meet their classmates.

“This is a really big freshmen class,” Lead Counselor Holly Browning said. “It’s nice bringing the kids together because they are coming from so many different places. We have so many more new kids than we usually do as well, so it’s nice getting to involve [them], so that next week there [are] familiar faces.”

Fishbowl proved to be a memorable experience for much of the Class of 2027, as well as many of the upperclassmen volunteers. 

“[This] was my first time representing a club [at Fishbowl], and it was pretty chaotic, but fun as well, getting to see all the freshmen,” Oruganti said. “It’s awesome to be on the other side of the poster, [and] nice to see people interested in your club and being able to talk to them.”

Fishbowl was the first time many stepped foot into Westwood, and it provided a glimpse into what awaits freshmen in their high school futures.

“The entire summer I’ve been in my room not interacting with people a lot,” Oruganti said. “So [Fishbowl’s] a good experience of how school is going to be in a few days.”