The beginning of the school year is exciting, but it can also be stressful, especially for freshman students who are new to the school. Teachers teach us differently, we have to make new habits, we don’t know how to navigate the building, and our academic work is more difficult and rigorous. Luckily, Berkley High School is filled with people who have already gone through this change. Here are ten tips and tricks from BHS community members for freshmen that will help them navigate the year.

Be Organized
Organization is such a vital part of high school. Without organization, students could forget assignments, due dates, tests, lose homework, and not know when they have extracurricular activities. However, getting organized is not as difficult as it seems. There are plenty of easy ways to be organized. Mrs. Belsky, Berkeley’s career counselor, shares, “You have to have some sort of system to keep track of what your life looks like,” and “not only doing that for school work, but you can also do this for extracurricular activities like clubs.” She further explained that this is essential “because the older you get, the more stuff there is to keep track of, and starting these habits now, is going to set you up for success not only for high school, but whatever comes after high school.” For example, a type of system could include having a planner or some type of online calendar where you can add all the events in your life. Organization will really help students easily navigate academics and social life.

Join Clubs
A huge part of high school is getting involved and being social. One way to do that is to join clubs! Clubs are a great way to meet new people, and connect through common interests. “I’d say put yourself out there,” Ava Cohen, a senior at Berkeley, mentions, “because you have the opportunity to meet a lot of new people, try different activities, and join different clubs. And I say that is a great opportunity to take advantage of, even in your freshman year.” You can do things that you love, learn new things and, more importantly, meet new people who have similar tastes as you. As a freshman, meeting new people can be a very stressful part of everyday life. It is so important to try new things and meet new people. Joining clubs is a great way to do so!

Get involved in other ways
Now, of course there may not be a club that sparks your interest. However, there are plenty of other activities besides clubs that you can join. For one, there are so many sports teams throughout the whole year! Beyond that, you can join the drama department – BeDrama -, different leadership positions like student leadership, and many other types of programs both after school and during the day. You can still meet people and get involved this way without having to join a club that doesn’t interest you. It is so important to be social at school, and Berkley offers so many options beyond clubs that can be really fun and connect you to so many people.

Limit Phone Notifications
Being focused is so important for studying and school in general. It is essential that you are able to be focused because, without it, you may miss really important information. Phones act as a huge distraction for students. Youmight be trying to study for a test, but then your phone dings, and before you know it, you’re scrolling through Instagram, and not studying. This happens to everyone, but it is still very frustrating. One way to help with this is to turn off your notifications at school or while studying, so you won’t be tempted to look while you work. Mrs. Belskey claims,“It’s distracting, it’s taking away your attention, it’s bringing this extra anxiety, it’s like somebody tapping you on the shoulder, all day long.” This one simple action can save you so many hours of stress from having work to do and not doing work because of your phone.

Find new study techniques
As you go into high school, the work gets harder. You may have more assignments and tests. That means more time studying. Studying is super important, as it helps you understand topics better. It is crucial that you find time to study and find a study technique that works for you! Not all techniques will work for everyone, so you have to make sure you know a way that will keep you focused and allow you to learn more. Mrs. Belsky comments, “What I think happens is that students say, ‘Oh my god, I studied for five hours last night’. Well, they probably didn’t study that long.” She later remarks, “Try to break things down in small chunks; don’t look at your phone, don’t open Youtube.” It is so easy to get distracted when you study, but it is also so crucial to being a good student. You must make sure you have a good technique that will help you focus and learn things too.

This Experience is for YOU- No One Else
High school is a big part of your teenage life, and it is really important to have good friendships as a teenager, but it is also important to know that this experience is for you, not your friends. If you want to join a club but your friends don’t, you should do it anyway. You could even meet some new friends in that club! Cohen emphasizes, “Don’t forget that this experience is for you,“ She continues, “the academics you take, the activities you choose, and who you interact with. […] Don’t do it because somebody else is telling you that you have to. Explore the things that you actually like and find interest in.” School is your experience, and you want to fill that time with things you love and enjoy. Don’t take an extra class in science if you don’t like it. It won’t be an enjoyable experience; it’s much better to take classes that you love and want to do.

Have good time management
As you get older, there will be more projects, more after-school activities, and other fun things you get to participate in. It is so crucial that you know how to manage your time. By managing your time wisely, you can carve out study sessions, make plans with friends, or attend after-school clubs. Knowing how to spend your time can make all the difference. “Make sure you’re of course working on things, but make sure you appropriately allocate your time based on importance and not just on how much you need to work on it,“ Cohen explains. For example, start with 20 minutes on a topic you don’t know too well, then go to ten minutes on something you know a bit better, then just review a topic for five minutes. That way you will be able to do all your work on time and not have to cram anything in.

Find new hallways to take
Berkley High School can seem super big, and the T can be really overwhelming. There are so many people who crowd there, trying to get through, and it can get really frustrating. It might be really useful to find new places throughout the school that you can walk through. It will be faster, and you will get to know other places in the school that you might end up having classes in future years. Freshman Ana Dailey says,“It’s just so much bigger, […] not just with how many people there are, but the whole school in general.” She later says, “I wish I was more prepared for the T.” Soon after, Ana mentioned, “It gets really crowded in the hallways.” Though sometimes it can be hard to avoid going through the T, trying to go different ways can really help you learn the school better, get you to your classes faster, and maybe pass by a few friends!

Ask Questions
The older you get, the harder your classes will get. It’s really good to challenge yourself, but you don’t want to overwhelm yourself with information and be embarrassed to ask for help. No teacher or student wants you to fail. If you have a question or clarification, you should ask; it will help a lot in the long term, and that class might not be so stressful. You don’t have to be scared about not knowing something. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions to your peers, to your teacher, or to former students of that class. They’ll probably be happy to help,” Cohen advises. It’s better to be uncomfortable for a few minutes then fall behind because you did not want to ask for help. In the end, it will really help you in the future and also help develop a great life skill.

If you want to do it, do it now. Don’t wait until later
The first year of high school can get overwhelming with all the new work and activities you have to do. It may seem wise to hold off doing things until sophomore year, but if you want to do it, you should! By holding it off until next year, you’re missing an opportunity to meet new people and discover new passions. Mrs. Belsky says, “Don’t wait until tenth grade to try something. Every year when I’m talking with seniors and we’re reflecting on their high school career, […] they say, ‘I wish I wouldn’t have waited to do this’.” Even though you may think it is best to take a more toned-down year, by joining a club now, you get a chance to find new things that you love and make new friends. Then it might even be better than waiting because you’re doing something you love to do.

New schools are hard and scary. There are many new things you have to get used to, including harder classes, many more kids, and more times you need to talk to new people. Hopefully these ten tips will help you out, whether studying or being social, and help you succeed in high school and all throughout life!