Archie Williams students close out the first grading period of the 2023-2024 school year. For the freshmen class of 2027, students begin to contemplate whether this new school is an improvement, tougher, or just different than their time in middle school. 

The feelings of intimidation fill student’s heads as they make their way through the Archie Williams High School campus. Some students look forward to these next four years, while others fear moving on.

Freshman Alex Brasler notices the differences between her friendships in middle school and high school as she begins her journey of this year.

“[Some] friend groups have grown apart. Kids have moved or gone to other schools. But it’s made it easier to adjust a bit, because there is less worry or stress revolving around the friend group,” Alex said.

Freshman Vivian Quaas has a different opinion on high school. So far, this year has reminded her of what her middle school years felt like.

“It’s a copy and paste of [middle school], just the high school [version],” Vivian said.

Whether or not it feels the same as middle school, all freshmen still need to adapt to the new environment. Freshman Renzo Wade figured the best way to adjust to the new school is to join extracurricular activities that Archie Williams provides.

“I’m doing basketball, and I’ve met some frosh kids that weren’t in my classes and some sophomores I’m getting to know more,” Renzo said. 

Renzo believes getting to know his peers and creating relationships with older classmates will help him acclimate to Archie Williams. An extracurricular activity will not only help him meet his peers but also create a comfortable community and place to go outside of school.

Additionally, freshman Alex Rodskog shared her opinions on how it’s important to enjoy freshman year and take advantage of the resources provided by staff.

“In later years, you’re going to think more about your future, and it’s stressful, but in freshman year, you’re getting to a new school and often teachers are a little easier on you,” Alex said.

 SLC teachers have found ways to balance out the learning strategies for teaching both sophomores and freshmen in order to aid the new students trying to navigate this year. SLC English teacher Zane Boehlke has a specific philosophy and community building approach to assist freshmen through the transition. 

“One of the most powerful things that I want to do for frosh students is give them some kind of [inspiring] community activity that they share with other students older than them,” Boehlke said. 

Boehlke wanted to start the year off with an inside joke or something to connect the freshmen with the upperclassmen. In order to do this, he pretended to be a stereotypical strict teacher, which created a more comfortable community for his students.

“In my class I’ll do a character on the first day. The sophomores already went through it, and the frosh don’t know what to think of me. It’s fun once I reveal my true self because it gives those frosh [students] a hand hold,” Boehlke said.

With childhood seemingly coming to an end, the freshmen students begin making their way through the next four years of high school.

This story was originally published on The Pitch on September 22, 2023.