The time and effort spent during the first days of a new semester are key to the success of the class that lies ahead. What happens during these first days can set a tone that inspires students to work actively and cooperatively to achieve success in the new semester, or to sit back and assume a "here we go again" attitude. In this article, the author describes how he begins each new year with activities designed to convince his students that they are valued as individuals, activities that will help them to get to know each other and to begin to appreciate the diversity, character, and knowledge of their fellow students. Most importantly though, he sets out to demonstrate the great power that working together in cooperative teams has to enhance their learning. The exercises described in this article are designed to begin to develop these attitudes. His experience indicates that they pay off richly by starting students moving along the path to good interpersonal relationships, making them feel comfortable in their new learning environment, and convincingly illustrating the power of cooperative decision-making.