Freshman catch-up

The high school experience looks a little different this year. Hear from freshmen about their year so far and their hopes for fourth quarter.

Story by Jack Toal

For the first time since BVN was founded in 1986, the freshman class has been in the building for just under a quarter of a year. Many eighth graders view the high school transition as a journey of discovery, with many classes, clubs and activities available to them that weren’t there in middle school. For the class of 2024, however, the change from middle to high school has been bookended by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the BVN Instagram, roughly 65 percent of the student body believes that freshmen this year have had it harder than previous freshmen. Freshman Remi Siner described the start of freshman year as “uncertain.”

“I’d say it was tricky starting all virtual. It was hard to get into a flow, meet people and learn,” Siner said. “It was especially...awkward in breakout rooms since we didn’t know each other.”

Freshman Dylan Zeller believes that missing out on high school traditions like homecoming was something minor for freshmen, but was worse for upperclassmen.

“I wasn’t too upset about missing out on homecoming or sweetheart because I’m a freshman so I can go to more in the future, but I think it would’ve been a little more frustrating if I was an upperclassmen,” Zeller said.

However, other freshmen were disappointed with the lack of traditions and activities available to them for their first year of high school. Additionally, socializing became more difficult. According to freshman STUCO President Eli West, it was difficult to work without having those regular social connections.

“The hardest thing has been socializing and meeting new classmates. I got to keep in touch with some of my friends [from middle school], but I also lost contact with some along the way,” West said. “I thrive with my interactions, so it has been harder especially since I’m doing all Virtual the rest of the year.”

In the beginning of the year, there were some struggles due to freshmen not knowing many of their classmates. According to Siner, the communication barrier lessened as the year went on.

On March 23, BVN moved back to an in-person schedule, creating increased class sizes. Before the change, some freshmen, including Siner, looked forward to the new learning mode.

“I’m excited for in-person because it will feel more like school when we don’t have to log on to a Zoom just to attend class,” Siner said. “I’m not too worried about COVID in school because I haven’t heard of any instances of people getting it from school. As long as they keep lunch distanced and a mask mandate, then I’m not too worried about it.”

Many students still haven’t gotten to explore much of the building due to restrictions during lunch and a lack of knowledge about the building in general — especially for all-virtual students.

“The first time I was at North was last year for the tour along with many other students,” West said. “Overall, I’ve only been [at school] a couple of times, so knowing the layout is a little difficult, but I think it won’t be hard to adjust to.”

On March 1, the Spring Season began again for student athletes. According to the BVN Instagram, around 57 percent of freshmen have participated, or are participating, in sports this year.

“Sports have come as a relief because school can get repetitive sometimes and take a mental toll on students. Having a sport to go to after is a good form of relief for many students and allows us time to meet other students as well,” Zeller said.

For some freshman, like Siner, sports have been the easiest part of the transition.

“Sports have honestly come easiest through the adjustment. Cross country training and soccer conditioning have felt the most natural and haven’t felt crazy different from before,” Siner said.

The girls soccer team has already had to quarantine because of a case on the team. Most of the athletes were released on March 9, upon having no symptoms and a negative test.

Despite the obstacles of the year so far, all-in-person could end up being a fresh start for some freshmen as they move into their final quarter of the year, according to Zeller, who said he is hopeful for a positive change.

“All-in-person is probably going to be weird at first but will be much easier because teachers won’t also have to teach through Zoom,” Zeller said. “Hopefully, it’ll become gradually more ‘school-like’ especially by the end of the year.”

TOP RIGHT: Freshman Maiya Whelan uses a computer. BOTTOM LEFT: Mrs. Morris teachers her freshmen students ELA 9. 4 | The North Star | April 2021

photos by Jack Toal