Information for First-Year High School Students

Students should try their very best to reach school on time. In the United States, for example, the environment at the high school may very well be different from that at a junior high. So they will be required to mentally adjust to the new scene. Being on time to get acquainted with fellow students, teachers, administrators, school security and such alike, will help them accomplish a good first semester and school year. Serious and dedicated teachers do not like students who are late or consistently late. That will only upset teachers and be a disadvantage to the students in terms of participation, learning and accomplishment.

Try to create some friendships as soon as possible.

This will help students feel more welcome, friendly and a part of the school community. For some students, this will be easy, especially when they have other students from their former school with them at their new high school. For others, they will need to establish some friendships base on similarities, such as academic abilities or sports achievements. In general, friendliness and demonstrating good manners will help students to gain not only students as friends but teachers who will admire them as well.

Students will need to keep-up with class assignments, home-work and obedience to the school rules.

The semester can move very fast for some students and so they will need to establish a mentality that will help them to focus and do their in-class assignments, home work and to know the regulations to obey at school. The first few weeks at their new high school class environment will be essential. Students will need to learn, right away, how to pay special attention to their teachers and class assistants or tutors. Distractions from friends and classmates will need to be dealt with in a friendly but firm manner. Students must know that they are at school to learn, first and foremost. Doing the class assignments will only help to reduce the stress and discomfort of trying to catch-up later in the semester or school year when time is very limited and a lot of school work may have already been missed.

A very essential reminder is the need to eat.

This means breakfast and lunch as well. Some students, from my teaching and tutoring experience, have a habit of not eating breakfast from home before they reach school. Then they tend to eat a snack in class. That will only upset teachers, distracts fellow students and can lead to detention punishment. No students should want that to happen. Parents will need to make a special effort and make sure their kids are eating breakfast before they leave home and lunch while at school.

Obedience to School Security is very important.

Even good academic students will be disciplined because of breaking or intentionally ignoring the school security policies. Some students will take the time to read and study the rules and this is good for a freshman at a new high school to do. But just knowing them is not enough. You must also obey them. Many of the good and justified school security rules are designed to protect the students, teachers and staff. So to know and obey the rules will help make the school year and life more safe, comfortable and enjoyable, in many cases. In this respect, students are often informed and strongly advised to never give their locker security number to anyone - not even their best friend. Best friends can change and will often protect themselves at the expense of others, when trouble with the school security or administration is the issue at hand. So students must always keep their locker items safe and secure by not doing the above.

In America, bullying is an essential issue.

This is especially true for new young students like first year high school kids. Those who know or suspect that they are being harassed in this respect must always tell their parents - no exceptions. They must also inform the school officials, for example, the principal, vice principal, counselors, academic advisers and others. This issue, if not resolved, can adversely affect the student over-all performance - mentally, academically, socially and in other ways. So students will need to be serious about this issue. They must never conceal the bully behavior but report this to their parents and officials.

Respect others and the rights of fellow students.

Students must know that what they will discover about someone or a fellow student must not be used as a weapon against that person. They will need to remember and learn the essential legal principle of respecting others rights and privacy. If a student is not sure about an issue in relation to this point, then consultation with teachers and their parents must not be ignored. They must discuss this with an adult official at the school and with their parents. Those who demonstrate respect for others will often receive respect in return.

In ending, the above are only some of the many information and advice first year high school students will find to be helpful in their school life. Students must always remember to talk to their parents and school officials about any issue that is difficult for them to solve or resolve. School security issues, doing school assignments and respecting others are very important, as well as the other points mentioned above. Students will need to know that what they do (right or wrong) during the first year of their high school life may have a profound effect on the rest of their high school life and into their adult life.

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