High school seems like such a scary place, which is why the transition from grade eight to high school can be extremely nerve-wracking for most of us. Ever wonder about ways to get good grades? What type of friends to hang out with? How to enjoy your four years at high school? What type of courses to take? Well, you’re in luck, because our very own grade 12 students from Richardson are here to give helpful tips and advice on ways to be successful in high school!
Get Involved:
Getting involved within the school is a great way to enjoy your high school experience as it can boost your school spirit. “Personally speaking, I’ve enjoyed getting involved throughout my high school career. In grade 10, I was a public relations executive for our school’s Art Council,” notes Minister of Marketing, Haniyah Baig. “Getting to host art shows really boosted my confidence and helped me build skills in public speaking. Now in grade 12, I am currently involved with Student Government, serving as your Minister of Marketing! Though my time here has been short, I’m so incredibly grateful for the family that is Student government. It is truly such a welcoming and fun environment, and I love working with people with the same passion for leadership that I have. Student Government is such an incredibly rewarding club, truly showing me how to be a better leader & amplify the voices of the student body. If you want to make true change and enjoy the high school experience, I highly recommend you go for SG or any other clubs! These are your last four years before you enter the real world, so you might as well make it the most enjoyable.”
Ask Your Teachers For Help:
Worried about getting good grades? “Asking for help on assignments in the form of feedback will help improve your marks and fix your mistakes because it may tell you what is wrong and how to improve on it,” suggest Akisan Uruthiramoorthy. “Richardson’s teachers are very nice and most likely will give good feedback on ways to improve your work. Also asking teachers for help on any homework is also great because it may make the content make more sense, which may improve test performance. Overall, teachers are meant to teach and if something is not understood you should ask them because teachers are more than happy to help you improve as that’s important to them.”
Study Ahead on Any School Work:
Asraq Hameed, a fellow member of Eye on the Storm, recommends staying up on top of your homework by studying ahead: “Can I just say that working ahead is good because it helps with your time management skills, and gives you more time to focus on other aspects of your life. Also working ahead gives you the opportunity to understand the content better and ask questions in advance before an assessment which can significantly improve grades. Lastly, working ahead can make you look really responsible in your teacher’s eyes, which may set a good reputation for yourself.”
Surround Yourself With Positive People:
Ever wonder what types of people to be friends with? Laiba Rizwan recommends that you “only surround yourself with people who promote you to be your best self. In high school, a lot of people have the tendency to put people’s needs before their own, and this results in lower grades and bad studying habits. Surround yourself with people who care just as much about their academics as you do because they can motivate you to be better. Also, avoid being friends with people who say things like ‘Let’s go out, stop studying! School isn’t that important anyways’ and be friends with people who influence you to make the best decisions for yourself instead.”
Find a subject that you’re interested in:
Richardson’s Deputy Prime Minister, Juhi Patel strongly suggests taking a large variety of courses. “Grade 9 is the perfect time to explore your interests and have fun doing it. I strongly suggest taking classes that you know or think you will enjoy and have fun in because students typically do much better in courses they are interested in. For instance, if your hobby is drawing and you’re really good at it, you’re a lot more likely to excel in courses like art over a course like french. Just be open to trying new things and try to find your passion by exploring new subjects because you may find what subject interests you the most is actually the career you want to pursue in the future. Overall, you might not like every single one but you’ll end up finding a class you love and meeting new people along the way!”
To all the nervous grade 9’s who truly want to succeed, these four years of high school will be one of the most significant times in your life, so it is strongly recommended to listen to take account of these suggestions. At the end of the day, the only one who can make these four years the best and most successful they can be is you so genuinely work hard to make this happen!
