Making the jump from middle school to high school is not easy, and the school’s new freshmen have to do it with the added difficulty of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

One of the most important parts of being a freshman is meeting new classmates and teachers. This aspect has certainly been affected by COVID-19 and the new hybrid scheduling.

“Having a hybrid schedule has made meeting new people kind of weird because you get a lot closer to people in your classes since class sizes are so much smaller, but if we ever go back to school full time I feel like I won’t even know half of my new class,” freshman Kate Haney said.

Another big change for freshmen students like Abby Wolff is the increased workload that comes with being in high school.

“In middle school, some of my classes didn’t even have any homework and in high school all of my classes have homework and there is a lot more of it too,” Wolff said. “I feel like because of the hybrid schedule I also have a lot more homework. Teachers think we are free and so they are giving us way more.”

Adjusting to schedule changes is always strange at first. However, many freshmen really enjoy having block scheduling instead of a traditional eight-period day.

“I love block scheduling,” Haney said. “I like that each period is a lot longer. I can learn more because with the short classes you start class and you learn a tiny little bit and then the class is over, but with 90-minute classes, you are able to go into more detail.”

Even with all the added obstacles of this year, some freshmen still agree that they like high school a lot better than middle school and the promotion has been a welcomed change.

“I like high school a lot more than middle school,” Wolff said. “Even though it is harder, it is a lot better, and meeting new people has been very fun.”