By Sara Khan Middle school brings on a lot more stress than what students were used to in elementary school. Making that big transition from elementary school to middle school can be daunting for some. The whole middle school atmosphere is totally different than what you were accustomed to in elementary school. This big transition is really challenging for most kids, and can bring on a lot of stress. Kids in middle school feel a lot more academic stress. Before, in elementary school you had the same teacher for every subject, so they wouldn’t plan more than one test per day. Now that you have a different teacher for every class, they don’t care that you have a test in another class. They just care about you in their specific class. The tests in middle school are also a lot more thorough. The units are so much bigger, and so are the unit tests. Kirsten Ellis stated,” The tests in middle school were just so much harder for some reason, especially math.” Also, each teacher has a different style of teaching. Some make you learn the topic the night before, and discuss it the next day. While others teachers will teach the topic the day of and make you review it that night. .” I enjoy the way my math teacher teaches this year. I like how we get to read up on the topic the night before, so we know what’ happening,” was eighth grader Patrick Vedova’s opinion on teaching styles. So you have to figure out what standards you have to uphold in every class. Pop quizzes also start to appear in middle school. Middle school assessments are a very stressful part of seventh and eighth graders academic lives, but aren’t too bad once you get use to them. Making new friends is also a very stressful thing for new middle school students. Not having your elementary friends in any of your classes can be very scary. Just imagine your first day of school, going to a brand new bigger school, and not knowing almost anybody in your classes. That has to be stressful. Friends are what keep some people going, and relive vast amounts of stress. If you are having a bad day talking to a friend can just make everything feel better.Making new friends is one of the scariest and best things about middle school. Some people meet some of their closest friends through their middle school years. After school activities can either provide more stress or reduce some of the stress they are feeling at school. In DJ Monsale’s eyes she thinks sports bring on more stress,” After-school sports make my life so much more stressful because I have to juggle getting all of my homework done between practices and games.” Although DJ feels that sports bring more stress to her life, many students feel that going to practices and games is a way to get their mind off of school for a little bit. It really just depends on how well you are able to manage your time between school and other activities. Middle school life can be very stressful, but with certain people these two years can be some of the best and most memorable years of your life. If you look at middle with an open mind you will be okay and not be overly stressed out. Some of the biggest tips of not stressing out too much in middle school are staying organized and to just not take everything too seriously. Just relax and you will love and cherish the years you were in middle school.
What's New Hms?
by Caroline Glazier
Here at HMS we have some new and upcoming things that are exciting. Our new Bring Your Own Device policy allowing students to bring their own personal devices for use in class has gone into effect. Of course, they may only be used if they are FCPS approved and at the discretion of your teachers. The teachers still have the power to take away your device if you are using it for inappropritate things or at the wrong time. Devices that are eligible to be used are smartphones, tablets or iPads, laptops and computers, or even iPods. Pretty much anything with internet connection that teachers might use for instruction. Participate in the new device policy by making sure your device is certified as soon as you can!!!
Mrs. Glazier won a prize from Raytheon Math Company that has entitled her to 5,000 dollars. She will be putting that money to purchasing come sort of tablets for her classes so that they can access their textbooks and do fun hands on activities with the iPads. This is exciting because before if teachers saw these devices being used without their permission they would be taken away and put in a safe and you would have to have your parents come and retrieve them for you.
Lastly, some teachers have received Net books which are assigned to students in their own class so that each student has their own laptop to use. It is a proven fact that computers log on faster when they are logging on with the same user. This is helping us save some time because the computers respond faster on everything, even just opening up a simple web browser. Each student in those classes has a computer which is assigned to them and that is kind of cool for the students.