Sierra High, in preparation of the first day of school, had plenty of activity on campus Tuesday.

For starters, about 400 of the 450 newcomers enrolled for this year filed into the large gymnasium for freshmen orientation.

Principal Steve Clark was thrilled to welcome the newest Timberwolves.

“It was great to be front of the kids once again,” he said, recalling that last year’s Link Crew event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His campus, meanwhile, has been undergoing some infrastructure makeover made possible by voter-approved Measure G. Included was the newly designed parking lot with ADA-compliant walkways and accented by recently planted redwood, Chinese pistache and fruitless plum trees, according to Clark, who credited the staff of Manteca Unified School District and CT Brayton & Sons for their efforts.

An estimated 1,670 students – Clark noted that’s 200 more than a year ago – are expected to be at Sierra High this morning for the first day of the school, with some rolling into the remodeled parking lot featuring a one-way, easy-flow traffic in place.

As for freshmen orientation, Jeff Greene, who has been the Link Crew advisor for about five years, was back into swing of leading the newest Timberwolves and another 80 Link Crew leaders in a variety of ice-breaking activities.

“We did a little bit of scrambling this morning but it all worked out,” he said after a two-year absence of the in-person experience.

Senior Alyssa Teicheira was optimistic.

“We’re here to create new friends,” said the Link Crew leader.