It was quiet at Cornwall Central High School for the last few months. There were some main office and custodial staff members around; the football team was practicing in the stadium; and there were a few students working on painting their parking spaces in the student lot. Otherwise, it was just a big, empty building.

It won’t be that way for long, that’s for sure. School starts on Wednesday, Sept. 2, and the halls of CCHS will be filled daily with nearly 1000 students and all of the adults it takes to educate them.

“This is such a great place,” Principal Kathryn Wilhelm said from her office last week. “And we’re in a really good place as school is set to start again.”

Wilhelm, starting her fourth year as principal of the building (she began her Cornwall Central School District Career in 2004 as an English teacher and became assistant principal in 2016) will be one of the first faces students see when they return to school. She greets them in the main lobby most mornings throughout the year, while Assistant Principals Mark Ray and Raul Rodriguez are likely be outside the building as buses and driving students arrive.

That trio, as well as dozens of staff, faculty and seniors, were on hand last week too, when the school held its annual Freshman/New Student Orientation. That day, Wilhelm said (“one of my favorite days”) is when CCHS seniors in the peer mentor program come to the school to give advice to new students – everything from how to get around the building to what clubs and athletic teams there are. They even offer up some personal advice.

“It’s a great program,” Wilhelm said of orientation. “The older students tell the new students things they wish they had known coming in as freshmen – tips and tricks, if you will.”

Administrators and guidance counselors were also set to spend some time with the new students, talking about everything from the CCSD’s cell phone policy to community lunch. Wilhelm said she will also add to the student push to get freshmen and other new students involved in clubs, and she hopes their parents will speak with them about it too.

“High school is a really good time to get involved,” she said. “Our clubs are really student driven, and club leaders will try to impress upon the new students that you really get out of high school what you put into it.”

CCHS added a new Math Honor Society half-way through last year, and a Business Club last year. There are many others, some academic based, some music and arts based, and some interest based. For instance, students who like to knit might want to join the Sewing Club. Those students who were at orientation are part of the Peer Mentoring Club.

Many of those clubs meet during the school’s Community Lunch period, a 55-minute period in the middle of the day where everyone eats. Often during that period there are volunteer opportunities, there is a chance to get some fresh air outside, teachers work together on professional development, and there are occasional guest lecturers or community members visiting the school.

But mostly, the principal wants her students to “take a break and socialize, be productive, get extra help and explore their interests” at lunch, noting that everyone needs some time set aside during the day to do that.

At orientation, students were also going to learn about where they can get their lunch, if they don’t bring one from home. In addition to the main cafeteria, there are concession areas all over the school where students can quickly grab a sandwich or specialty item.

If it sounds like there’s a lot going on inside the building at all times, it’s because there is. Wilhelm says the building is ready to welcome the students, faculty and staff back, and praises the hard work of those who are there year-round. The custodians, she said, have done another “phenomenal” job in taking the building apart to clean it and then putting it back together; last week they were working to make sure all classrooms had the appropriate numbers of desks and chairs.

Pride in the physical building aside, Wilhelm says it’s the students that make the building. A resident of Cornwall and the mom of a Cornwall Central Middle School student, she’s seen students here and there through the summer in the town and village and enjoys that. Once the academic year begins, she’ll see them in the halls of the building, at sporting and other after school events (her green sneakers are ready for the first football game this weekend), and, still, around town.

“I love seeing them out and about, and representing CCHS in the community,” the principal said. “I often hear from community members about how amazing our kids are. They’re right.”

Parents – or students – who need to meet with Wilhelm or others in the school’s staff, faculty and administration, can make appointments via the school’s main office, or email those concerns. All email addresses can be found on the district’s website, cornwallschools.com. Parents can also stay up to date on school events there, as well as specific policies and procedures.