WEB EXCLUSIVE Students and faculty met in their respective PAWS advisory groups this morning to get acclimated to the new school year, go over announcements for the week and catch up with their peers and advisor.“I love the idea of having advisory on Monday mornings as it’s a great way for all of us to catch up on the last week and start with touching base on what we might want to accomplish in the week ahead,” art teacher Malisa Suchanya, who advises a section of juniors, said.

PAWS advisory groups are a time to connect with classmates and go over weekly updates under the supervision of a faculty member who guides students through the entirety of high school.

“We never got much time to meet so I am looking forward to getting closer with my advisory and having a few Monday morning breakfast potlucks this year,” junior Lili Levy said.

According to the new schedule, PAWS groups will meet from 8:00 a.m. to 8:25 a.m. every Monday morning with a 20 minute passing period before A or E Period officially starts at 8:45 a.m.

“It gives us a predictable and stable amount of meetings and gives us time to make goals for each week and help us motivate each other,” junior Saron Asfaw said. “It also gives us more time to bond with advisors who may or may not be our teachers.”

Students will meet with their larger PAWS families, groups of different advisories that span across all four grades in order to build stronger relationships between upperclassmen and underclassmen later in the year.

“Last year, I felt as if I didn’t see the group nearly enough and for the intentions of what PAWS is trying to accomplish,” Suchanya said. “I’m excited that I’ll get to walk alongside my group throughout this year.”