Every year, students of Fresno Christian go through a process of adjusting to regular school days during the first week of school. This is the second in a two-part series documenting their activities and adaptions.
Unlike its easy-going predecessor, the second day of school consists of eight or nine periods, each containing 50-minute classes, and a break for lunch. During this time, students must learn to transition from a vacation mentality into the normal routine of school.
Assignments, poor habits plague students
Homework can be one of the biggest shocks that comes with the beginning of school, even though the first few days the load is generally light. Kathryn Damschen, ’15, is already preparing for this obstacle.
“It’s difficult, but I like the feel of it.” Damschen said. “It hasn’t been a lot, but I’m preparing cause I know it will only increase. I’ve been going to bed early a lot; my mom has been on me a lot for that.”
One of the challenges that wears on students includes sleep. Sophomore Elora Hargis is struggling with getting back into well-balanced sleep schedule.
“It [school] is really hard, especially because of sleeping,” Hargis said. “I have such bad sleeping habits. Trying to get back into thinking early in the morning is hard because I’m not used to it yet.”
After dealing with various struggles last year, Hargis admits that the key to success lies in developing good habits.
“My advice to freshmen and new students would be to keep yourself organized,” Hargis said. “Don’t get too stressed out by overworking yourself, just take it all one thing at a time. Make it a routine to be organized and be a good student.”
Looking back on his earlier years, Chandler Vargas, ’12, encourages students to create relationships with their teachers, in addition to maintaining organizational skills.
“Be on top of things, and don’t procrastinate,” Vargas said. “Make sure to go after school or at lunch and get to know your teachers for who they are. You only get a couple years here and they have a lot more knowledge than us, so take advantage of that.”
Students move up in grade levels
There are many adjustments that occur as students transition from year to year. Off-campus lunch and a top-dog status await the seniors, the freshman begin to learn the ways of high school and the sophomores and juniors experience the relief of finally having some power on campus.
With knowledge accumulated over the year, students put lessons to use as they set new goals. As a new upperclassman, Stephanie Peck, ’13, recognizes the higher stress level of the year to come.
“The work load is a lot tougher this year and I can tell already that it’s going to be stressful,” Peck said. “I’ll have to work really hard. It will be worth it because it will teach me to be more self-disciplined and mature. That’s sort of the theme of junior year; learning to become a more responsible person.”
Although some students miss their previous year because of the easier workload, Eric Cowin, ’14, thinks differently and misses the company of alumni who made his freshman year memorable.
“The class of 2011 is no longer there,” Cowin said. “Many of the students in that class were good friends and mentors to me. Now we have a class that is below us.
“This means we can share our experiences that we had our freshman year and use them to help the new freshmen. Honestly, I miss being at the bottom of the ladder. I had more people that I could get advice from. Not that it isn’t good moving up.”
As the freshmen experience an entire new way of school, they are often relieved to finally achieve a higher class of academia. In this respect, Kim Ward, ’15, does not miss junior high at all.
“The difficulty in classes is weird,” Ward said. “But I’m really excited to finally be in high school because I didn’t really care for junior high. High school is what I’ve been looking forward to.”
The shock of realizing only one year of high school is left makes Tyler Zaentz, ’12, think about how fast the four years move.
“College always seemed so far away and the time just kind of sneaks up on you,” Zaentz said. “Now that I’m a senior and getting close to being done, I realize how quickly it all went by. This is really your last chance to prove yourself to college coaches. College is just a different level of athletics that you really have to work at it if you want to succeed.”
For the first installment in this two-part feature, read the Aug. 16 article, Day one: Students ease into a new year.
