Since we are in the “back-to-school” spirit, here is a Q&A about “back-to-school” and how you can make this year your year!

What is back-to-school?

It is a period when students are mandated to go back to school and procrastinate the whole entire year, pushing and dreading for an acceptable letter grade. This is also a time when teachers gather their teaching preparation, including yearly reused powerpoints and long and excruciating exams/homework questions to post on their Canvas modules for their lovely and happy students.

What is school?

Maybe you need more time off 🙂

What is the first day going to look like?

The first day is going to be the most non-chaotic day of the year. Most likely, you’ll be waiting in the commons waiting to see a familiar face, but until then, you’ll be awkwardly standing in the middle of the hallways trying to look for people. Freshmen, in particular, will be forgetting all of the information that was given from the freshmen orientation and will be looking up and down, left and right to look for their classrooms. Also, there will be long lines of freshmen in front of a staff member asking about the location of their classrooms, so you’ll know who the freshmen are. Sophomores and juniors will be so happy to be back and start another year at their favorite school, so don’t bother them. And you’ll definitely see many seniors walking down the hallways ready to start their last-first day of school. Just keep looking and you’ll eventually see a senior…just keep looking.

What does after school look like on the first day/week of school? 

When you leave school, you’ll be left with many syllabi to read, many permission slips for who-knows-what, and a ton of welcome and get-to-know-you forms that just take longer to do than your average homework assignments, because apparently, you don’t know yourself as much as you thought. 

Any tips for the incoming freshmen?

Keep asking away about everything because eventually, you’ll start to know where you’re going and what you’re doing. Eventually. 

Be adventurous in this whole new world.

Upperclassmen don’t bite, so don’t be scared of them. 

Any tips for sophomores?

Take a stand. Bite the freshmen. 

And most importantly don’t pull all-nighters and avoid procrastination. Good luck!

Any tips for Juniors?

Take a deep breath and get it over with.

Any tips for Seniors?

…..survive (so later you can write an “I survived..” book about your senior year.) and enjoy the last moments of being in high school, because you are going to miss it. And Hakuna Matata!

How do I know if I need more sleep?

You need more sleep if and when you call your teachers mom or dad when you pretend that you are not falling asleep during class, if you are studying until 4 am, if you’re wanting a snow day, if you are sleeping during lunch and not eating, and if you feel like class is going on for eternity.

My tip to you is to finish as many assignments as possible during homeroom, lunch, and/or study hall. Whatever you don’t finish, complete at home, which will help you sleep earlier. 

You should be getting 8-9 hours of sleep every night!

What and How should I prepare for school?

You could mentally prepare yourself by screaming into a pillow and staring at the ceiling while realizing it’s already back-to-school season. 

Think about the extra-hard exams/homework the teachers will hand out, the 100-pg reading assignments you’ll have to read, the 6 hour late-night studying sessions you’ll have to go through, and the dread of going to school everyday. You could also mentally tell yourself that you are going to be very productive this year, or you could be honest: the possibility of you being productive is a 0—you’ll most likely procrastinate all year long—so prepare yourself for both situations.

Now that it’s back-to-school season, it’s time to go buy the unnecessary school supplies that are excessively expensive but are “necessary” for each class. That’s got to hurt your bank account….

In particular, you’ll probably be in the school supplies section choosing what types of pencils to buy– 2B or not 2B? For some reason, it’s unexplainably difficult to choose pencils. 

But in all seriousness, you are here and you survived last year. You should be reminded everyday that you are doing amazing and you are an excellent student! Let’s rock this 2022-2023 school year and be the best. Here are a few wise words from our Principal, Mr. Peterson: 

“My hope for the school year is for everyone at North High School to have the best year of their lives!  As we all continue to write our “life story”, we become kinder to one another and find ways to bring joy to others!  It’s going to be a great year, go Lightning!”