Welcome back! School is back in session for another year, and we’re happy to share it with you! Many of our students may be a little anxious starting a new year, while others may be exhilarated. Whatever your feelings are about this new year, I’m sure there’s lots to look forward to, like seeing friends and learning, as some of our students have expressed in interviews such as Tristan Johnson, who said when asked what he was looking forward to this year, answered, “At the moment I’m just content to get back into the rhythm of school and spend time with my friends while learning things that can help me in life.” and Jayla Mendoza (a senior at SAFE) said, “Seeing my friends every week.”
We also had the privilege to interview some of our own graduated students from SAFE. We asked the questions: “What did you do in school to help you be productive?”, “What did you do in school that you wish you hadn’t?”, and “What is your advice for current students at SAFE?”. So that maybe students can have some guidance. Here are some of those answers!
Will Catoe, who graduated a few years ago, said that having background noise can be a good way to stay productive, and his advice to SAFE students today is, “Make friends with everyone and don’t judge the people you don’t know. Go against the crowd and be yourself. If others don’t like you because you like something, don’t change yourself. God loves us all, and we should be able to share that love with each other.”
Jabin Courson said that what he did to be productive was to just “Stop whining about it in my head and just did it. Schoolwork was never easier because I waited to do it, and waiting just builds dread and fatigue. Knowing how long it will take to do something is really helpful for procrastinators. Don’t wait til the last hour to do something.” His advice: “Make a point of studying actively even when you don’t need to, so that you can build up the practice. If you’re going to take chemistry, take it with Mrs. Stewart. She’s the best. Enjoy and rejoice in the science as an opportunity to study the wondrous miracle of creation and to give glory to God for it.”
Victory White regretted focusing on one subject more than another, showing that all your classes are important equally. Her advice to our students is this: “Take notes as much as you can and highlight main points so you can come back to them for tests.”
Meredith Hermanson said that “Now I’m in college, writing down all my notes and rewriting them has been the most effective, productive studying technique for me.” As for what she wished she hadn’t done in school, her response was, “Honestly, I wish I paid more attention to my school and was less focused on everything else. School first, then relationships.” Her advice to you: “Stay focused, have fun, and remember grades matter more than you think they do.”
Brenna Ullrey found that putting her phone away helped her stay productive while also keeping everything on her mind at bay before she started studying. She also said that she wished she had stayed out of all the drama that was going on, especially because she didn’t need to be in it. And her advice: “Be yourself and try to make friends when you can. Middle school and high school is really hard when you’re on your own, and it makes everything a lot better if you have a few friends supporting you.”
And finally for one of the students who graduated just last school year, Samuel Bowman whose advice to our students is this: “Even with the rules that are in place that feel restricting, try to have fun still. Club Day is a lot of fun when you let it be and although a lot of the rules that seem it could ‘make it less fun’ there are still ways to have fun while following the rules in place.”
Thank you to all the graduates who gave us their advice and wisdom, and to our students who gave their own thoughts as well. There is definitely more to look forward to this year than just what was mentioned, so enjoy! We love hearing from you, and maybe next time you can be one of our interview subjects!
