Freshman Check-in

At the beginning of the year we checked in with the newest members of the Blake upper school community, the freshmen. Naturally they were all nervous and at least a little bit excited for the new experiences they were already anticipating. Now, with one eighth of their high school carries complete I caught up with some members of the class of 2017 to find out what they have learned during and how they felt about their first semester at the Blake High School. The responses were quite diverse, with many positive like that of Ryan Whitney ‘17 praising the teachers for, “always going out of their way to help you and taking time out of their days to help you understand everything,” and others less positive like that of Ana Shoemate ‘17 saying, “I learned that if you are in the hallway and you run into an upperclassman it is always your fault. So just apologize and move on.” The range in responses is not surprising seeing as every new experience will come with its ups and downs. The transition from middle school to high school is no exception. It is not an easy one and at the beginning of the year many freshman felt a little overwhelmed by the completely new environment. After a few month though, many ninth graders feel more and more like they are part of the Blake upper school community. The upperclassmen can be a slightly intimidating, but they are not all bad as Julian Ueda ‘17 added, “I enjoy spending time with people who are not only in my grade, but also from the ones above me.” It is never easy adjusting to a new environment, but with the support of the Blake upper school community the first semester for the freshmen was most definitely a successful one, filled with some challenges, but also the support to overcome them. The freshmen learned a lot throughout their first semester and I am sure there are many more lessons to come.