By: Lara Clemens
As a freshman halfway through the school year, I have already gotten a feel of what it is like to be in high school. It was a little bit challenging adjusting to the new atmosphere and academics, but I managed to adapt to the high school environment eventually. As of now, the schedule at the high school is in block format; the schedule goes Period 1 (7:38-8:55), Period 2 (9:00-10:23), Enhancement (10:28-11:12), Period 3 and lunch (11:16-1:12), and Period 4 (1:17-2:38). Each student can take 8 credits of classes; 4 per semester. This schedule has its ups and downs. It is nice to not have as many classes to balance at a time, but students may forget what they have learned in a specific class such as math if they have not had it in a while. The classes can also be a little long, typically lasting 80 minutes, but this usually results in productivity and students learning ample material during the school day.
The other difficult aspect about block scheduling is that there are midterms and finals both semesters, which requires more studying than usual. Some advice that I have is for students to get involved in clubs, sports, and other school-related commitments. There are so many activities that students can get involved in and make new friends in. High school can be rough if one does not have a group of friends by his or her side. Friends can really help out and make one’s life easier. Some other advice that I have is to study diligently but not too hard that there is little time to do other things. Getting good grades is important, but it is also important to find a balance between academics and other activities such as extracurriculars.
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