Transitioning into the high school as a ninth grader can be absolutely terrifying, due to the new environment, new curriculum, and new people. 

      Because middle school is the period where students go through the most physical growth and high school is the period where students go through the most emotional growth, the transitions can be drastically different. 

      “I was pretty much just worried about keeping up with all the homework,” Freshman Hadley Simms said. “I had heard from upperclassmen that there’s a ton of work so I was super worried about that.”

      Although facing obstacles in high school can be difficult, having an older sibling in high schoolcan always help the younger sibling be more familiar with the environment and, basically, be more familiar with how everything works.

     Freshman Gigi Frasier has a sister, Isabella, who graduated last year. Isabella and Gigi were on the SA dance team and both know many of the same people. 

     “My sister told me that freshman year is really important because that is the first year that colleges look at,” Frasier said.

     Freshmen Hadley Simms also has an older sibling, current SA Junior Christian Simms. 

     “My brother Christian is a junior,” Simms said. “He pretty much just told me that there was a lot more work and the classes were harder.

     The hardest transition, however, might be coming from a different school and starting your journey at St. Andrew’s as a freshman. This is the case for new SA freshman Logan Tyner.

     “My first impression of high school was that it was kind of intimidating at first because I’m not an upper-classman and I’m a new student,” Tyner said. “After it started though, I felt more comfortable with everyone.”     

      Overall, the differences between the two can also be pretty overwhelming. 

     “A difference between high school and middle school is that in high school you can be more independent than in middle school,” Frasier said. “The honor code is also a lot more serious in high school.”

     Even the little aspects may seem very extreme, but very lenient to the new students. 

     “A big difference I have noticed is the students and teachers, high school isn’t as strict as middle school,” Tyner said. “You have a little more room than you did in middle school, but high school can be harder.”

      Although high school can be difficult, it is arguably some of the best four years, as one looks forward to the various dances, the freedom, and just the simple concept of one being an upper-classman.

     “I love that I can have my phone with me during the day,” Frasier said. “So far high school has been pretty good.”