After a long summer, many FC students are ready to get back to school with their friends. With the first quarter ending Oct. 12, they are finally getting back into the swing of a normal school schedule. Students have mixed feelings about their early school year experiences.

Although he felt the changes from junior high to high school were a little difficult, freshman Bailey Brogan felt that the first quarter went very well.

“High school is definitely harder, with the transition from junior high to high school,” Brogan said. “I got used to it after a while. Even though it’s harder than jr. high, it really is a lot of fun.”

Sophomore Lindsey Baker-Pauls is satisfied with the way first quarter commenced. Making new friends, she has enjoyed the experience.

“I think that it [first quarter] was pretty good,” Baker-Pauls said. “I’m getting good grades and stuff, since I’m working hard. I’ve also made a few new friends.”

Baker-Pauls also admitted that while being more experienced in high school has its advantages, the new year includes challenges as well.

“I think you get a lot more respect as a sophomore from the upperclassmen, so that?s good,” Baker-Pauls said. “My Powerschool didn’t work for forever, and it still doesn’t work actually, so I’m not able to know my grades, which is a pretty bad thing.”

Jon Agao, ’14, also felt positive about his first quarter but claimed that some classes have increased in difficulty. Agao also feels the differences from going to an underclassmen to an upperclassmen definitely has its advantages.

“My first quarter so far has been excellent,” Agao said. “I think it has been easier than the sophomore year, so it seems high school is getting better progressively, which is a very good thing. English and math are definitely harder but other than that, it’s pretty straightforward.”

Most students assume that their senior year will be simple and painless but senior JP Caprioglio learned that is not always true. Caprioglio expresses his feelings on being faced with a tougher schedule.

“It’s more difficult than I thought it would be,” Caprioglio said. “I transferred out of some of my classes, got into some new ones but I never really have an easy course. I look forward to my second quarter and I hope it’s easier.”

Caprioglio also noted that there are some enjoyable aspects of senior life. He enjoys the freedoms he has acquired from becoming a senior.

“You get more privileges,” Caprioglio said. “We get off campus every day and that’s pretty nice. The teachers seem more friendly, now that we’re leaving.”

Mike Fenton, head of the math department, feels the pressure of coming back to FC full time. Though he enjoys his classes, he also realizes it is a lot more work than he has had in the past two years when he worked part time at FC.

“This is the first year I’ve been back full time,” Fenton said. “The last two years I left at lunch. It’s fun to be back on campus all day but that means I’m a lot more tired at the end of each day. It took about a month to feel like I was in a rhythm, and my students were into a rhythm. This year a lot of my students are ones I have never taught before and usually I had taught most of my students at least once. It took like a month before everyone hit their stride.”

Overall, Fenton expresses positive feelings toward the first quarter. He appreciates the new students he has met and looks forward to the rest of the year.

“Overall, I think the first quarter’s gone really well,” Fenton said. “It’s fun to be back, and it’s fun to meet a bunch of new students. I think we will have an even better second quarter and overall year, since we’ll just hit the ground running.”

For more features, read the Nov. 6 article, Campus parent grows up in orphanage, escapes Vietnam.