Sophomore Life Part 2

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Being the youngest in a new school environment is always hard for students to adjust to. It might seem like it's not a big deal for parents or other students, so we wanted to go ahead and ask some of these new sophomore students to see how it really is from their perspective. 

Q: Do you like the A and B day schedule? 
Most sophomore students said that they like it way better because it's nice to have every other class. They feel like they can have a break from classes, and if they forgot a homework assignment, it wouldn't be due until the next few days. We asked Mya Opfar, if the longer classes bug her, and she responded, “Not at all. When you're in the class seventy-five minutes feel just like fourty. The only difference is that there are four periods - not seven.” 

Q: Is it weird having different Jr. high schools merge into one big school?
Ella Martin said “It's weird, but I'm used to it.” She also said, “I just don't know as many people like I did in Jr. high school. So it's weird to see more people around.” Paige Whittaker said, “I think it's more nice than weird. I get to meet more people and be more social.” 

Q: Is it hard to get around? 
Many of the students agreed that it was really hard at first, but they got the hang of it after the first day. Ella Jackman said, “It was really big when I saw it at first, after the first week, or even first day it gets super easy to get around. I always trip on the stairs going to classes.”

Q: Do you think being the youngest in high school is the same as being the youngest in Jr. high? 
Koda Marshall said, “Yeah, because I feel like everyone's twice my size again so going from tallest back to being short is weird, and everyone else is older than us seems scary.” Kenzie Tenney said, “I feel like in 7th grade all the 9th graders are bigger and it's weird and different but now in 10th grade we kinda know what to expect being the youngest in the school.” 

Q: Is it difficult to adjust to a new school? 
Hannah Jones said, “I mean it's pretty difficult at first, I had a hard time to figure out where everything was and trying to see everyone I hadn't seen over quarantine” Tanna Marshall responded by saying, “A little bit. It's a whole new environment, and I wasn't used to it at first, besides the new halls, classroom, teachers, etc. It was pretty much the same as Jr. high schools, with the rotating classes every day and different teachers.”

Q: Is high school the way you imagined it?  
We believe many students dreamed of the adventures they'll have in high school. This is what Ella Jackman thought, “I guess I thought of it being different because I know everyone has dreamed about it and everyone is friends with everyone which would be great but I just feel like it’s harder to make friends.” Seth Hicks said, “I've never seen High School Musical, but this doesn't seem like it at all. There's not nearly as much music as I expected” Paige Whittaker said, “Definitely not, in movies they portray it as a bad experience and students get bullied. Honestly, high school is so much better than that. In the end we're all a team and we all work together to improve and grow.” 

With the changes that COVID-19 caused, Mya Opfar said, “I would have never imagined having to wear a mask throughout all of school, or even have dances cancelled and other school activities. Even just wiping down desks after each period. It's definitely different than I thought.” 

Q: What is your favorite part about high school so far? 
One of our favorite responses from a sophomore boy was, “Probably the girls.” Hannah Jones said, “The A day and B day schedule because it's really nice and easy to work with.” Tanna Marshall mentioned, “Meeting all the different people. It's crazy how many different people there are at Maple Mountain. I love making new friends and getting to know them.” 

The year 2020-2021 at Maple Mountain High School will be one for the books because of COVID-19 and having to wear masks at all times. It was very interesting to see what new students think about Maple Mountain. We’re glad to see that there were such positive results with our sophomore students' responses.

Attributions
Story and photo by Brookelynn Alvey and Preslie Huntington