After lunch, the PALS led the middle schoolers on a tour around the school in groups. DECA students were stationed around the school, giving descriptions at each stop of the tour.

“It was really fun to tour the school today,”  eighth grader Elena Ballenger said. “I liked walking around and seeing how the school works and where to go for each class. I’m really looking forward to the Cedar Park community”

At one part of the tour, the eighth graders got to play a variety of ice breaker games in the gym with the PALS and Lippe.

“My favorite part was the games that we played in the gym, specifically Simon Says,” eighth grader Trinity Hope said. “I was a little nervous at first, but I got to meet the PALS and they were fun.”

Senior PALS president Marisa Kubasiak said it is important for the PALS to help the eighth graders loosen up. 

“An important part of our role is helping some of them get engaged with the game if they were too scared,” Kubasiak said. “I think it went really well. A lot of the eighth graders were a lot more engaged this year than they have been in previous years, which is good because a lot of times they’re too cool for school in eighth grade, but this year I would definitely say they were very into it, which is good.”

To help keep the tour organized, eighth graders were split into different groups with a couple of PALS in each group to help guide them around the school.

“Another responsibility was administering where the eighth graders went and avoiding any crashes of the groups bumping into each other while also making the eighth graders feel comfortable because it’s a random new place that they’re in that they don’t even know anything about” Kubasiak said.

The eighth graders visited different stations where students from DECA introduced them to what high school had to offer.

“My favorite part about the eighth grade invasion is spreading joy to the kids,” sophomore DECA student  Tommy Harel said. “I joined DECA mostly because it is good for college, but also getting to talk to the kids today was great, especially since I’m Jewish and a part of the school’s Jewish community, so I get to share with them some of our school’s diversity.  Our school is very diverse and that’s something very special about our school.”

DECA students were randomly assigned to speak about different parts of the school. Sophomore DECA student Meera Palsikar was assigned to talk about the theater and choir section of the school.

“We were assigned randomly by a generator, but I am a part of choir, so I’m really happy to get to talk about choir,” Palsikar said. “I love seeing so many new faces and seeing who is going to join us next year.”

Even though the tours seemed to go well and the kids enjoyed it, there were some criticisms.

“I do wish that we got to go into more areas instead of just going to specific points in the school,”  senior Everett Taylor said. “For example, I thought we were going to go into the welding area and show everyone that area or the theater department. There’s a lot of different departments and subsections of the school that would have been cool to show them.”

Even before the tour, many of the eighth graders already had an idea of what they wanted to do in high school.

“I’m in band right now but I don’t want to do it in high school,”  eighth grader Konnor Kanlagna said. “I want to do construction in high school instead. I want to become a demolitionist.” 

Fellow eighth  grader Lucas Jimenez shared Kanlagna’s sentiment about band.

“It’s a lot of work,” Jimenez said. “I want to do engineering, mainly, but overall the classes in  high school sound better. They sound more fun than they do in middle school.”

Many eighth graders  mentioned wanting to play a different sport in high school. 

“I’m excited about the sports in high school,” Ballenger said. “Specifically soccer, but right now I’m in basketball, but I won’t do it in high school. I want to join the nursing program in high school, and I’m really excited about that.”

Other students mentioned their excitement for new classes and activities.

“I’ve mainly just been intrigued with culinary,” eighth grader Aaron Judd said. “But I think I’m going to take American Sign Language, which would be really cool. My sister did ASL in high school and I thought it was cool. I am interested in it too because you can communicate verbally, or you can communicate with hand signs silently. I like that I have that opportunity in high school.”

Unlike high school, middle schoolers have the same schedule each day, with nine classes everyday.

“I’m excited for the A and B day thing,” sophomore Chase Johns said. “I’m excited for that and lunch. We have the same schedule everyday in middle school, and it sucks. It is the same thing every day and it gets boring.” 

Palsikar said she remembers her experience of being an eighth grader during the Eighth Grade Invasion. 

“I remember just being really excited seeing choir, theater and the gym. It was like everyone was really nice and inclusive,” Palsikar said. “Eighth Grade Invasion is important because high school is a huge shift, and especially from middle school. It’s fun to see new people and introduce them to the many organizations that we have in our schools”

On the other hand, this Eighth Grade Invasion was a new experience for more people than just the eighth.

“This is my first 8th grade invasion,” middle school teacher Hannah Villareal said. “It’s cool to see all the high schoolers stepping into leadership roles and being able to share their school culture with the middle schoolers. I really liked the activities in the gym. I thought it’s fun for the middle schoolers to let some energy out, and I love that the PALS are showing them that it’s okay to be themselves and let loose.”

This year, the Eighth Grade Invasion took place in January, unlike past years that happened in May. 

“It seems kind of soon,” Villareal said. “However, I think it’s good for the middle schoolers to start thinking about their next steps and where they’ll be next year. I think it’ll be all right in the long run.”

Regardless of whether or not it was too soon, Lippe still had a positive outlook on the event.

“It’s odd that we did it in January,” said Lippe. “For years we’ve always done it in May right before it’s summertime. That kind of feels more appropriate, but even here in January everybody brought their energy. We started about ten years ago and every year it has just been getting better and better and stronger and stronger.”