Freshmen, How You Doin’?

need some friendly advice?

I hope this summer has been one to remember for you. If it’s spun past in a dizzy blur, at least you’ve got the school year ahead to make memorable, and hopefully memorable in a good way. Although summer never feels like long enough, I’m sure the school year will. Here’s some advice to help you make it through to your next well-deserved summer.

Schedule

Whatever time you forced yourself to slip out of bed in the sunny daze of August, you’ll probably get to make a less drastic adjustment to your morning alarm for this school year, since there’s a new bell schedule. Instead of 7:30, school will start at 8:05 every day. The final bell will ring at 2:45, except for an early release at 1:45 on Wednesdays. The bell schedule for the first three days of school will be a little different, because you’ll start the day in your advisory class. If you know where only one class on your schedule is, make it advisory.

During the rest of the school year, advisory will be on Wednesdays, along with the rest of your even numbered classes. You’ll start the day in second period, so do your best to avoid accidentally walking into your first period (although most of us have been there). After your second period, it’s advisory; after that, fourth and sixth. Thursdays (besides the first Thursday) will be your odd numbered classes. These block days mean hour-and-a-half classes, time for longer tests, and a chance to share lunch with different people.

AHS has two lunches: A and B. Which one you eat at depends on your fifth period teacher on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. On Wednesday, since you don’t have fifth period, it depends on who you have for fourth, so you usually get a chance to share your circular table with some different friends. If you have a few too many friends, you can always share seats, too. Once you’re a junior, you’re allowed to leave campus for lunch, so that’s something to look forward to.

Schoolwork

Something you’re probably not looking forward to quite as avidly is high school homework. I’m sure you’ve all already finished up your summer work, and I’d advise you to keep that effective time management trend going. Get a planner, please, if you don’t have one already. Seven classes are a lot to juggle, even if you’re not doing it by memory. For freshman year, AP Human Geography is likely the class you’ll do the most work for, but it’s great practice for note-taking and great preparation for the rest of high school. If you’re not taking it, don’t worry; classes and the homework you get from them definitely increase as you go through high school, so you’ll have a chance to improve your note-taking skills soon enough. Also, since you’ll be busier with school later in high school, try a few clubs (maybe the Seahawk Journal?) that look interesting to you now. You’ll have more years to enjoy the ones you want to stick with, and less regrets as your time in high school wanes.

School Spirit

Have you heard of homecoming? This year, it’ll be October 12th, so the whirlwind week of painting murals, constructing floats, and rocking lip-syncs with your class is fast approaching. Leadership will decide on a theme for the week, and classes each choose a branch of that theme. Last year, the theme was genres, so the seniors, who picked Musicals, built an Emerald City float. Juniors, with Romance, painted a mural featuring the Titanic. Sophomores voted for Action, so a few inflatable T-Rex costumes made an appearance in their lip-sync, and freshmen chose Westerns, so the week was filled with lots of lassos, plaid, and cacti. Whatever the theme is, homecoming is a chance for your creativity and school spirit to shine; to craft some incredible things and create some memorable times.

Especially if you’re playing sports or trying out a couple of clubs, the tidal wave of homecoming can catch you off guard and sweep you off your feet freshman year (and not in a romantic way). To keep both feet on the ground, try to figure out dresses and plans sooner rather than later. Whatever happens with the competition or the dance, get at least a little involved in the spirit of the week, do your best to have a good time, and remember your class has three more years to figure out homecoming.

That applies for all of freshman year: you figure it out. You figure out how to navigate your way through the halls, through your schoolwork and activities, and through high school life in general. I hope you enjoy it at least a little. If not, there’s always sophomore year.

best of luck!