SO this has been done so many times, but I figured that everyone has a different way of going ~back to school~ and that this might help some people! So, without further ado... how to prep for your freshman year (of high school)!
STEP ONE: Get your schedule
Everyone’s school has a different way of distributing your schedules. My school and most schools do it online. You’ll have found out how to access your schedule, be it email or Aspen or canvas or something else entirely, at the end of your eighth-grade year. If you don’t know how to access your schedule, don’t worry- try to check in with a friend in an older grade (or an older sibling even) to figure out how to access the website.
Once you have your schedule, set about reading through it. Ask yourself the following questions:
does my schedule have all the classes I need to be taking (aka the core five- usually languages, sciences, history, english, and math)?
are all my classes at the level I need (standard, honors, advanced/ap)?
are all my electives in place?
If you don’t have all the classes you need, don’t panic. Many high schools have a day for students to come in (before the school year) and fix their schedules with their guidance counselor. If your particular school doesn’t, take a deep breath. Again, check in with someone older who has done this whole pre-freshman summer at your high school and ask what the standard procedure is. If they don’t know, you can even email your school’s secretary/office and ask what to do. Your school is there to help you, and it’s important to take initiative.
Once you’ve gotten your schedule, if you can, then it’s onto
I like to write down all of my class details in my bullet journal. This includes teacher’s name, room number, the time, and the color code that I assign, to for class. Then, I write down my schedule, again in my bullet journal. If you don’t use a bujo, then I would recommend writing all this information down in your planner, and printing out your schedule.
If you don’t have a color code, I would recommend creating some system of distinguishing between your classes. It’ll come in handy for midterms/finals studying, and keeps your life a litte more organized. You’ll be able to find and distinguish between important papers in a much quicker manner than if you didn’t, but everyone has a different system that works for them!
Speaking of systems- start to give some thought as to how you’d like to organize your school work. Ask yourself:
what has worked for me in the past?
do i like binders or file folders more?
do i like to take notes by hand or by typing?
STEP THREE: Back to school shopping
I wouldn’t personally recommend purchasing binders, composition notebooks, dividers or folders before going back to school. Each teacher and class have different requirements, and there’s no sense in buying more file folders or binders than you need. I do like to go in and purchase pens, pencils, paper, sticky notes, ext., and at the beginning of my high school career, I purchased two 2″ binders to contain my work from past units so I wasn’t lugging all my papers around at all times.
Questions you should ask yourself while shopping usually run along the lines of:
am I buying this because I’ll need it, or because I’ll want it?
do i have space for this in my backpack?
A general list of items you should probably get (if and only if you don’t have them yet) are:
loose-leaf graph paper (SUPER useful in math)
2 binders for old papers (useful for looking back on and studying)
a planner or notebook for bullet journaling
red, blue and black pens of HIGH quality
glue, scissors, that sort of thing
A WATER BOTTLE (this is SO important to have)
a backpack and lunchbox (but think SUPER hard about if you need new ones here like SUPER DUPER hard)
and a pencil case that is durable
STEP FOUR: Relax (and do your summer hw if you haven’t yet)
Hopefully, you’ve done your summer homework. If not, then get your butt working on it. Make sure it’s completed well because it’ll often be the first grade you receive in your first term. Make a good first impression!!
Then, relax. Back your backpack for your first day of school, spend some time with friends, buy new clothing, go to the beach... treat yourself and try to keep the stress levels low.
STEP FIVE: Go to your first day
The night before, make sure to get to bed early. In the morning, make sure you’ve eaten something nice and filling, and double-check that you have your water bottle. Not even messing around here, you do NOT want to be dehydrated on your first day of high school!
Walk in that building, and remember that every kid there is feeling just as nervous and new as you are. You’re going to do great!
STEP SIX: Compile your syllabi, mark important dates, get binders
When you get a chance, usually after your first week of school is done, try to go through your syllabi, mark down important test dates in your planner or on your calendar, and figure out what each teacher expects from you. Look at what you need for each class (a binder, a notebook, your laptop...) and get it! Don’t be afraid to tailor the requirements to your needs, either. If the teacher provides note sheets, but you’d rather follow the note sheet along on a separate sheet of paper, you do that!
Remember that this process is about you, and helping you learn the most and the best that you can. Take your time, and try to enjoy your first year of high school! It’ll go by pretty darn fast :).
