December 27, 2017 at 4:13 p.m.
Seniors share words of wisdom with JWMS students
Seniors share words of wisdom with JWMS students
By Kayla Thomason-
Seniors Brad Comer, Maria Kipper, Cayla Fritz and Sean Mathews advised the younger students to participate in extracurricular activities, as those activities are quite helpful when applying to colleges and will make their time in school more fun. The seniors also told the eighth graders not to procrastinate and to talk to their teacher as soon as possible if they feel as though they are falling behind. They also strongly recommended the younger students take a study period and actually work on homework during that time as that will make juggling school, extracurriculars and a job easier.
In a wide-ranging conversation, the seniors advised the eighth graders to not over-stress about the ACTs but realize they are important. They also stressed how important it is to keep grades up and how that opens a world of possibilities when applying to colleges and more.
The seniors agreed the discussion was a valuable experience for the younger students.
"I think it's a good experience for them because then they're not going into high school blind, they've talked to people who have been there for four years, they have a general understanding of what it's about and what you're going to do and go through," Mathews said, adding that he hopes the eighth graders will take what they heard to heart.
"I hope they'll take away the importance of getting good grades your first couple years so you don't get behind," he said.
One message that was repeated by all the seniors was for the eighth graders to enjoy their time in high school as the adult world is just around the corner.
"Have fun, high school is your last time of being free and then you start getting responsibilities when you start going to college, so enjoy your time, make new friends, reach out to people, have fun," Mathews said.
After listening to the upperclassmen, Jacksen Smith, one of the eighth graders, said he felt a bit more relaxed about going to the high school.
"I thought it was very useful because there were a lot of questions I was worried about or wanted to know that would help me next year," he said.
The advice that stuck with him was getting homework done and turned in on time, and being more responsible.
He is in basketball, football and baseball and intends to continue with sports in high school, he said.
Smith said he hopes the district will continue to bring seniors in to talk to eighth graders about the transition from middle school to high school.
Tes Shrader, another of the eighth grader, appreciated hearing advice from kids who are living the high school experience right now and can offer timely tips.
"I thought it was good because we got to learn stuff we didn't know and they explained it good because they are in high school," she said.
Karalyn O'Melia, K-12 academic and career planning coordinator and half-time eighth-grade counselor, said this was the first time the school district has had seniors talk to eighth graders about high school life.
She said district officials feel that hearing advice from actual high school students is the best way to get through to the middle schoolers.
"I wanted them to hear it from the actual students, from their experience, and you can tell they're honest," she said. "They weren't making anything up, they weren't trying to please me or be politically correct or anything and that's what they (the eighth graders) needed to hear."
O'Melia noted that she agreed with a lot of what the high schoolers were telling the younger students.
"I think the freshmen may be more concerned about developmentally trying to fit in rather than thinking about the purpose of it, and that's normal, but I also want them to hear that from the other students that 'Ah, they wish they could do things differently,'" she said.
O'Melia said she chose four senior students that she felt would be good role models for the younger students.
"They're hard workers," she said of the seniors. "One girl said 'My ACTs wasn't so great but that was OK, I got into where I wanted to go and I did because there were so many other things I've got going on."
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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