Every fall, a new stream of freshmen pour into Loy Norrix High School, replacing the graduating senior class. For most students, going from middle school to high school can be a jarring experience. The class of 2027, however, experienced a particularly nerve-wracking move to high school.
Sage Lee is a freshman who experienced a lot of anxiety prior to and during their first day at Norrix. They attributed this anxiety mainly to the impact of COVID-19 on their grade.
“We went into middle school during COVID. I think for most of us, going to high school was really scary because we hadn’t transitioned from one level of school to the next before, so we didn’t know what to expect,” Lee said.
As Lee explains, the freshman class has less experience transitioning between schools, as the last half of their fifth grade year and the entirety of their sixth grade year was spent in Google Meets. It was only once they were in seventh grade that they returned to their physical schools. Having less experience with switching schools seems to have caused more anxiety for this year’s freshmen about the transition into high school.
Among the most anxiety-inducing aspects of Loy Norrix, most of the freshmen’s concerns could be sorted in three categories: navigation, people and their classes. Out of 89 surveyed students, navigating the school was the largest source of worry, though classes and people were also stressful.
For some students, however, there wasn’t one specific overwhelming worry. Every aspect of high school seemed like an insurmountable obstacle.
“I’m a very anxious person usually, but I just had no frame of reference. I’m the oldest sibling, so no one could really tell me what to expect,” said freshman Elli Kastner.
Despite participating in several different tours and orientations prior to the beginning of the school year, Kastner still felt as though these events didn’t give students an accurate depiction of what life at Norrix typically would be like. For many freshmen, the first day of school came as a shock.
Despite this initial reaction, many of the freshmen feel much more adjusted and welcomed by the school than they did in August.
“Loy Norrix is very full of people always moving from one point to another,” Kastner said. “It’s very easy to get caught up in the chaos, but once you get your head around where everything is, it’s not that bad.”
Lee is also finding themselves much more at ease than they were previously.
“I know where most things are, I know most of the teachers that I have at least, and I’m developing a routine,” said Lee.
One of the things that has helped freshmen adjust to Norrix is having someone to look up to, whether that be an upperclassman or a teacher. For Kastner, this inspirational figure is art teacher Gregg Stevens.
“He [Stevens] is just nice. He feels kind of like a veteran who knows their way around the place,” said Kastner. “He’s a nice figure to look up to.”
Stevens finds that the most important way he can help freshmen adjust to the school is by treating them the same as other students.
“I think that treating different subgroups can kind of be a tricky situation for you in the future because then you act differently around different kids, and they can pick up on that,” Stevens said. “So I try to treat everyone pretty much the same. That’s just using my judgment for each situation.”
Although the new freshmen came to Loy Norrix with different experiences than the classes before them, they are quickly becoming a part of the Norrix community. As the 2023-2024 year progresses, the freshmen will inevitably acclimate to the people, classes and navigation of the school and Norrix will be enriched by the fresh perspectives that the class of ‘27 has to offer.
