The transition from middle school to high school includes
more difficult classes, worrying about college and increased class
time. All these changes can be a lot to take in. However, some freshmen said they are
enjoying the switch.

Freshman Priyanka Kannan said that she prefers high school to middle school.

“There’s a lot more freedom. The rules are more lax. It’s just more relaxed than middle school,” she said.

She said that the teachers are better at high school because they have more expertise.

“There is a lot more homework, but it is a lot easier to get through because it is more interesting than the homework in middle school.”

Though she described her time at middle school as awkward, Kannan also said that she still has a lot of friends from 8th grade. Freshman Sam Best says high school is just about what he expected.

“I was expecting to be tired, and I am tired,” Best said.

He says that there is a lot more freedom in high school when compared to middle school.

“We get more time to ourselves at lunch and between classes,” Best said.

He said there isn’t anything he particularly misses about middle school, he said he would prefer to have a bit more time to sleep though.

Freshmen Veronica Rivera, Giuliana Farkas, and Ashleigh Sloan said that they too preferred high school to middle school as well.

“The days seemed so much longer in middle school,” Farkas said. “It’s easier to pay attention when the class is 50 minutes instead of an hour and a half.”

Rivera said she would describe the climate as being very friendly.

“The upperclassmen are a lot nicer than what social media made it out to be,” Ri-
vera said, going on to say that she thought that the upperclassmen would hate them as
freshmen.

This turned out not to be the case. Kannan said she agrees that the biggest
surprise was the atmosphere.

“What surprised me was that is just a lot more relaxed. In middle school, there were a lot of cliques and a very prominent hierarchy,” she said.

“[The climate is] friendly, but you need to reach out to people in order to get help.”

Rivera and Farcas, who both play volleyball, said that starting the season early helped them meet upperclassmen.

“They helped us out and made the transition a lot easier,” said Farkas.

Freshman Drew Hermes says that he is also enjoying the transition from middle
school to high school. He said students are much more friendly and helpful than the
students at his middle school.

“Everyone is so willing to help out. You just don’t see that anywhere else,” Hermes said.