I am going into high school. And frankly…cowers behind big rock Its scary. I bet Im actually going to have to homework for more than a half an hour, my old school said it took 2 hours for its homework, meh, it was a half hour.
meep.
And that whole phys ed credit…mrrf, have to do a sport. and then…high schools just kind of…big, ya know?
other than that, Im new to SDMB, Hello, Im me, something of a fantasy/ science geek, bit of an artist (not very good, mind you, but I like art), and Ive just been reading for a bit around the boards…yeah. Introduce yourselves please!
Don’t worry too much about high school. I just graduated two months ago, and even though it’s never the most fun place on earth, I survived all right.
hint for getting out of PE: take AP and honors and fine arts classes. might make for a little more than a half hour of homework every night, but I took four my senior year and didn’t have homework some nights and had only ap calculus homework many other nights. if you take classes like that then you can claim no time for PE as long as you have a nice guidance counselor (or in my case, if you’re really persistent)
don’t worry about the seniors - honestly, they are overgrown sophomores for the most part. a few will get on power trips, but for the most part most (wow, that’s a nice little palindrome)… most of the upperclassmen are mostly good. (that’s the most times I’ve used “most” in a sentence in a long while… and that word is starting to become most humorous…)
well, I’m not really the one to say much about SDMB since I’m sorta new myself, but I’ve been lurking for a bit… for the most part it’s a nice buncha people around here! welcome!
Got your schedule yet? Did it come with a map of the school? If it didn’t, I’d suggest looking at your future school’s website, to see if you can print one out. That way, you don’t have to worry about asking people for directions. That was pretty helpful for me.
I second the idea not to worry about seniors. Sure there are some that are a bit too giddy about “ruling the school” but for the most part, in my experience, they’re normal high school students.
As for homework, I found that my freshman year was easiest in these terms (except for Algebra…god, that was a lot of homework) and so far my junior year (last year) has been the most difficult.
Also I’d get the required courses that you don’t want to take out of the way, like PE. I didn’t, and I’m gonna have to be in PE as a senior – I start tomorrow actually! Not necessarily freshman year, but sophomore year at least.
Dont be afraid of high school, it will be the best time of your life. Instead of being afraid of the large amount of students, see it as an easy way to make friends.
ya know, Its not really the seniors, i know Im going to get lost and have no clue what to do. Really and honestly, I know its going to happen. Ill wander around going “What the hell…?” and end up looking stupid. I dont think the school has much of a site, and if it does, I doubt theres a map, I asked the secretary when I enrolled and I dont think she ever answerd that question. Im hoping its pretty much a hallway stacked on another hallway, etc, with a few turns and such. Or then somone will tell me “go take these papers to such and such a person” who I dont know… stuff the like.
large amounts of students…again, lost and confuzzled. rather scared of people…but chants hopefully easy way to make friends, easy way to make friends, etc…
thanks, I wasnt really expecting much reply.
Don’t worry about getting lost – everyone will. My first few days of high school, I wandered around with friends and was late to every class – none of the teachers really cared; they were all pretty understanding. After about day three it’s really not a problem anymore, and you will proceed to scoff at your pre-high school fear.
Stop saying “meh”. “Meh” is a sure-fire way to get your arse kicked.
And make friends with somebody with a car, if you aren’t already. You’ll be the most popular freshman in school, even if you wear black and haven’t seen the sun in three years. (not that there’s anything wrong with that, just that “goth” (I use the word tentatively because other goths are always saying that those goths aren’t really goths or something like that… I always thought the Goths were a Germanic tribe that sacked Rome, but there you go) kids tend not to have the widest possible social circles.)
Oh, and practise staying on topic.
One last thing… if your school is running an “apparel program” (a sort of optional uniform for public schools) DO NOT participate. It’ll mark you out as a freshman as clearly as that mid-puberty cracking in your voice…
Look at it this way… I emphatically say high school is much better than middle school. I’ve gotten maybe 20 agreements to this statement, and no disagreements.
I’m gonna be teaching high school in a couple years - how’s that for scary?
In all seriousness…
Yes, you’re gonna get lost. But y’know what? Every single freshman is gonna get lost - that’s how it is for the first week. That’s your bond, man! You’ll be lost together (which is always better’n being lost alone), then you’ll figure out where you’re going together. And maybe you’ll make some friends from that alone, besides the friends you’ll make in classes & such.
I’m pretty sure that the teachers will acclimate you to the homework; they’ll build it up a bit over the course of September rather than dumping you with 3 hours on your first day. Having more work is a part of getting older - this whole ‘taking on more responsibility’ thing.
I think you’re going to do just fine - I got a feeling! Good luck!
In my experience, far worse are the juniors, who are not underclassmen anymore but not seniors yet. So they have all the smugness saved up from their sophomore years (which smugness was obtained from much “ha, look at the pathetic freshmen” and such things), which gets multiplied by the smugness of being upperclassmen. Plus they’re really pissed that they still have that year AND the next before they get to move on to other stuff.
Once you get to be a senior you pretty much only care about getting the hell out of Dodge (or, alternately, getting someone in your Dodge;)), so to speak.
my freshman year I made my sister (a senior) walk me to my language class every day for the first week. she finally said “dude, go, you know how to get there,” and I’m glad. because I did. just find someone that’s not a freshman, maybe a sophomore than you went to middle school with, or older siblings of your friends work really well too, latch on to them for a couple days, learn the ropes, and go merrily on your way. you’ll be fine!
enjoy freshman year - even though it’s scary right now, you will be gaining a lot of priveleges and freedom this year and in the next few. this year you get the best of both worlds - parents and teachers start trusting you more, but they really don’t start to load you with stuff yet. best of luck!
High School can be fun, just keep your grades up because college is fun beyond your wildest dreams.
High school work isn’t too hard. If you keep up with your homework (and reading), show up to class and seek help when you need it, you should be fine. The number one thing you can learn in high school if you are planning on going to college is how to write a good essay.
Figure out what classes you need to take to get into college, and don’t worry to much about the rest. Very few things you do that don’t involve hard drugs, unsafe sex, or dropping out will ruin your life at this point. Don’t let the pressure get to you, and know when it is appropriate to slide and when it isn’t.
Don’t ever let your conselors say a class is full or something can’t be done. If they do that, have your parents call. It’s surprising (and sad) how much more seriously they will take an adult.
Write down your schedule on an index card or two, and stash them in your back pack and pants pocket for the first week or two.
If you hate PE, check and see if you can take it in summer school. I did that, and not only did we meet fewer times, but it was too hot to do anything but swim, take field trips to the bowling ally, and do “the shade drill”- sitting under a tree playing cards.
Join clubs. Join anything that sounds fun. Don’t worry about not having friends in these activities- you’ll make them pretty quickly. Don’t not do something because you are afraid it will hurt your reputation or make it harder to make friends. There is a lot more room for deviation and indivdualism in high school than middle school.
I’m starting college soon.