WOODBURY – Freshman year is an exciting milestone in high school. It starts a new chapter, as students flip the page at new school with lots of opportunities.
But while it’s fun, it can also feel overwhelming or intimidating–especially for students trying to navigate a new building. As a freshman, the youngest in a big, brand new building, surrounded by hundreds of upperclassmen rushing through the halls, everyone seems to know where they are going, except NHS’ 9th graders.
This year, there are 170 freshmen at Nonnewaug High School, coming from a variety of different towns. After just one orientation, they are expected to navigate the entire school and get to class on time.
Orientation can be helpful because it gives freshmen a chance to tour the building with guides, meet teachers, and new students.
However, the summer orientation day didn’t solve every student’s needs.
“I don’t think it helped me that much with classes,” Madelyn Taylor, a freshman at Nonnewaug High School states, “just because of how big the school is, and I don’t even really know where everything is now.’ So maybe orientation is just not enough and to short for how big the school is
Charlotte Toon, a freshman at NHS, appreciated the help orientation provided. However, Toon recognized that there was still some learning left to do.
“The orientation only helped me on Monday schedules,” Toon said, “but it kind of confused me on the odd and even block days.”
Some hallways could be more confusing than others as well. For example, the upstairs lab rooms can be very disorienting.
“The science hallways are probably the most confusing.’ Madelyn Taylor said, “ They look the classes look the exact same, like Mr. Kornblut’s classroom looks just like Mr. Denman’s classroom.”
The wings down stairs could also be confusing for new freshmen because they can’t see the classrooms straight on, for new people, it could seem like a maze.
Something else that could make navigating the new school a little more overwhelming is the upperclassmen. Juniors and seniors seem to be so confident while roaming through the halls knowing exactly where they are going because of how long they have been doing this. As a freshman who is still trying to figure out where their next class is, it can feel intimidating, feeling like first year students are in everyone’s way
“I hear seniors complaining how freshmen don’t know how to walk,” Taylor said, “but it’s hard when you don’t know where your class is and you are trying to change direction but an upperclassman is in the way and thinks it is your fault.”
For some 9th grade students, the opening weeks have been a learning experience.
“Some seniors yelled at me to run faster in the hallways,” Toon says.
Over the first couple weeks of school, people have found tools and strategies to help find their way to class. Like a map, wringing it down on a piece of paper.
“I have found Powerschool on my phone a lot to help me find my classes,” Taylor continues, “just because it tells me the exact room number and teacher.”
It sometimes is also helpful to ask older kids, Like if students are in a school sport, 9th graders could ask your older teammates, Toon says. “Asking upperclassmen on my soccer team can sometimes be useful to get to know where I am going.”
Adelyn Cetrone, a freshman at NHS. Sometimes gets lost in the hallways on the way to class, though she, and many freshmen alike, recognize the process is getting easier.
“Although it was hard to get to class without getting loss, it gets easier the more days we are into the school year,”
Overall, from learning the new layout of a new school, to adjusting to upperclassmen, it can be a big transition. With time we will start to gain confidence, memorize hallways better, and it will start to just get easier
