A senior’s declassified high school survival guide                                                                                                                                            

Congratulations!  You’ve made it to high school!  You are in the home stretch.  Though it may seem like you have a long way ahead of you, the next few years will fly by, trust me.  However, these years are also what count the most for your future.  Although your freshman year can be overwhelming, if you follow just a few steps, you can make it through the year (and the rest of high school) while staying sane.

First, remember that this year does in fact count toward your final GPA, just as much as any other year, and colleges will see all of your freshman year courses and grades.  This is not meant to scare you; in fact, since all four years of your high school career are weighted equally, take advantage of the fact that your freshman year classes will probably be the easiest compared to subsequent classes.  That being said, I understand that the new environment of high school can be overwhelming.  You have been thrown into a new, big school (I got lost all the time when I was a freshman), and you are expected to keep up without missing a beat.

Therefore, my second piece of advice is to take advantage of the guidance department.  If you are ever feeling lost or in need of guidance (see what I did there?), make an appointment in the guidance office to meet with your counselor.  There, you can discuss everything from your workload to your social life.  Get to know your counselor, because he or she will be writing your college recommendation in three years.

Next piece of advice: join lots of clubs.  Schreiber has tons of clubs, from Key Club, where you can volunteer at various community events, to Mathletes, where you can participate in local mathematics competitions that challenge your creative problem solving skills.  And, of course, The Schreiber Times.  Clubs are a great place to make new friends and participate in things that you might normally not be exposed to in the classroom, along with a place to deepen academic interests.

Another important tip is to check your teachers’ schedules to see when they are off.  If you have matching off periods, you can go to your teacher in his or her office and ask about homework you did not understand or go over lessons from class.  Teachers are always more than willing to help.  This will become increasingly helpful as you get deeper into the school year as you will have more tests and assignments.

My next piece of advice, which is probably the most useful, is to go to the department offices!  The library tables are often full, and the library computer lab is being used by a class during much of the day.  If you need to do work, head to the Social Studies office, Math office, or English computer lab!  Each of these offices have tables where you can do work and get help from your teachers.  When I was a freshman, I always assumed the Social Studies office was off-limits for students not in class, so I stayed away, but it is in fact one of the best places in Schreiber to do homework, so take advantage of it.

Finally, do your best to get into good work habits.  These will set the course of your next four years at Schreiber, so you might as well set good habits now.  This includes avoiding procrastination and setting a work schedule for yourself. Although last-minute cramming may have been sufficient studying in middle school, it will not be enough for high school-level exams.  Try to keep these tips in mind while navigating Schreiber.

Finally, do not forget to have fun.  You will only have four years here, so make the most of them!