High School from the Freshmen Perspective

By Eva Chattopadhyay and Elena Turcios

The transition from middle school to high school is one of the biggest changes in everyone’s life. There are definitely significant changes, so we interviewed some freshmen about what their thoughts were about high school. From the coffee shop to differences in sports and class schedule, the freshman class has some interesting opinions!

When we asked what we were looking forward to the most in high school, the unanimous answer was “the coffee shop!” The most common answers for favorite items…Drinks: Lattes ( both iced and hot) and drinks with  Matcha! For food: The cookie and cinnamon roll!

In fifth grade, Advisory snack was in the middle school, but the following year, the schedule changed and then it got taken out. Now that it is back, how do people feel about it? Students say “They should keep doing it, and it is great.” In fact, student after student said their favorite part of Advisory is the snacks, so don’t forget yours when it’s your turn!

The biggest thing we were told as 8th graders was that we were going to need to step up because we would have a lot more freedom than we did in middle school. Now that we have it, we asked, “Do you like the freedom in high school, and why?” The overwhelming response was “Yes!” because students have more time to do assignments throughout the day during times such as office hours or after lunch.

Next, a huge change that we didn’t realize would make such a difference: 45-minute vs 1-hour classes. One thing that is agreed on, at the start of the classes, nothing is too different; however the ending minutes make all the difference. According to one student “The longer you sit there your brain kind of goes off, and then you can’t remember anything at all.” Another student added, “It’s especially bad at the end of the day when you are already tired” according to another. 

The workload was one of the things students were worried about going into high school. Overall, yes it is a lot more than middle school; however, it is manageable. It just gets tricky for people who do extracurricular activities and “quizzes and tests every week” is a lot to handle.

We have great sports teams at BGA! We interviewed students who played a lot of sports in middle school and compared it to what they are doing now that they are in high school. The students we asked agreed there are a lot higher stakes in high school, definitely more pressure put on the players, and winning is now more important in high school because there is the state title to think about.

We also interviewed a number of new BGA students. Overall, students really enjoy the classes, the extracurriculars offered, and how their teachers care about them and know their material. One new freshman said, “It is very different from my old school but in a great way!”

Stay tuned for more 9th grade perspectives in future posts!