Junior High graduates offer their advice

With all of the focus being put on the class of 2015’s senior graduation coming soon, many people have seemingly forgotten the other graduating class: the class of 2019, who will soon be graduating junior high.  Although not as flashy, attention garnering, or as monumental as senior high graduation, we at the KE have not forgotten the achievement by the class of 2019––graduating from junior high. So in the spirit of having the graduating classes pass down their accumulated knowledge to the classes below them, here is the advice from some members of the graduating 8th grade class.

Caroline Pauly
Stay organized in your classes, and take good notes because they will be useful on tests and quizzes. Keep an actual planner to keep track of/write down homework (don’t depend on Haiku alone). For your eighth grade speech––repeat it out loud a ton before you present it because you will eventually have it memorized by saying it over and over again. Study for all tests and quizzes because they are a big part of your grade in a class. Make some new friends and branch out a little bit because freshman year a lot more people will come. This sounds cheesy, but have fun with friends and the time that you have left in the junior high because in high school a lot is going to change, so enjoy your last year in the junior high.

Taylor Damberg
Looking back on my seventh grade year, I was pretty intimidated by pretty much the whole school in general; I wanted to pave my way through the year with good grades and good friends, but I didn’t quite get the hang of it until I could really realize what I was doing wrong.  In seventh grade it REALLY helps to join in as many extracurriculars as you can. If you are nervous or excited to meet new people, I would strongly recommend picking up something to do fall, winter, and spring. This not only helps to get to know others, but it helps you figure out what you enjoy doing. Entering junior high can feel like an opportunity to create the person you want to become, so what better way than to try new things, right? Also, with so many distractions nowadays it is super easy to get distracted, and in seventh grade most kids just can’t resist the temptation of procrastination. One big thing to remember is to break up with your cell phone and television and sit and work. Work hard and when you get distracted, set goals for yourself like, “Okay I’m going to finish these three assignments before dinner and then I can be on my phone and have a dessert before going back to complete my essay.” And last, but definitely not least, I would say be nice to everyone. Be kind and caring in every way shape or form to everyone you see and you are guaranteed to make friends and have a good reputation of being a good friend.  Trust me someday those people will be really impacted by your simple act of kindness.  They could be having a really rough day and maybe that small, short, but meaningful, conversation that you had with that person made them feel a whole lot better.  It never hurt anyone to be kind.

Luis Mojica
Always check Haiku, PowerSchool, and your email. Cramming is not fun. If you go on trips, remember that you might have to make up a lot of work. Write down random things that were talked about in Mrs. Zahedi’s class because that might be the bonus question. Don’t be annoying. Don’t change yourself to become popular. Choir is the easiest class to get an A in, then PE, then Art. Always try to apologize for something you think might be wrong (not test answers or anything, though). Insults are meant for people to laugh at, so if someone insults you, laugh at them because only people who are low would say it to your face, and only those who are really low would say it behind your back and act with a fake personality in front of you. Staying near teachers decreases your chances of being bullied. Don’t do stupid things (like poke a living person with a dissection knife or be dumb enough to be defenestrated by Mr. Hoemke). Appreciate your food by devouring it like a malicious beast but in a polite and thankful way. Throwing chicken nuggets is pointless unless given consent by the person you are throwing it at, but even that’s still not allowed, I think.

Meagan Steck
Stay on task and don’t procrastinate, especially on group projects. Finish your homework and give every assignment your best effort. Lastly, listen while teachers are explaining. There is nothing worse than not understanding the homework you have.

Maddie Kurtovich
If you thought the homework load in seventh grade was bad, you have another thing coming. Another thing is, you only realize how annoying you were as a seventh grader when you’re in eighth grade and a bunch of seventh graders are running around the halls. And, it gets harder, I’m not going to pretend that it doesn’t, but it’s not so overwhelming that you can’t handle it.

Joe Benning
Seventh graders need to know that in eighth grade you are a year away from being in high school. They also need to know that if they really want to be in honors classes in high school they need to get good grades in eighth grade in that class. You can’t stop trying also at the end of the year because those grades also matter if you want to be in honors classes.