Senior Schedule

This is the time of year for juniors to start making schedules for their senior year.  When kids start thinking about the classes they want to take, there are a few factors that come into play:  The rigor of the class, how it will fit into their schedules, and how many off periods they will be able to get.  There are obstacles for seniors now, though.  Seniors are now subjected to double-period AP's, which destroys the schedules of seniors.  Gym does not fit well into seniors schedules anymore, and presents a possible issue for scheduling.  For example, I want to take AP Physics, but that would mean I would have to take it every single day, which is a double period, and then take gym every other day 8th period.  This is an annoyance and ruins seniors day schedules.

February Break

With the second quarter coming to a close, students finally have something to look forward to.  February break is in around three breaks, which seems so quick already.  Recently coming off Christmas break, another break in the horizon seems too good to be true.  Many kids will be pushing through the next few weeks of school in order to grant themselves our next school break.  Midterms act as an incentive to power through school as well; kids generally feel satisfied after taking exams.  Thus, the break will be that much more relieving.

Midterms

This week is a stressful one for a lot of students.  The close of any quarter comes with testing and essays, but the end of the 2nd quarter is particularly stressful.  Midterms come around, however Half Hollow Hills no longer has a midterm week.  We have "cumulative exams" from the first quarter, which practically act exactly like a midterm.  This is the teachers way of making up for a midterm, and giving students another thing to worry about.

Midterms are bitter sweet, though.  Although they are just another exam to worry about, they signify the middle of the school year.  We are now onto the second half of the year, which is somewhat enlightening to many students.

2014 Australian Open

This year, the Australian open was very interesting.  The reigning number 1 Rafa Nadal went up against number 8 Stan Wawrinka in the final.  Despite the unbalance in seeding, the number 8 seed pulled out a win.  This was an amazing match, though some speculate that Nadal was injured.

Even though the final of the Australian open was great, it was somewhat disappointing to see Nadal play under an injury.  He appeared to be not trying, which, as a tennis player, is somewhat disheartening.  Even though I am not a Nadal fan, I would have rather seen him play to his fullest capacity than watch him lose injured.  The 2014 Australian Open was a great tournament, and I look forward to the next grand slam event and next years Aussie Open.

Australian Open

This is one of my favorite times of year.  Being a tennis player and a tennis fan, watching any tennis is a good time.  The Australian Open, however, is different.  It is the first of four grand slam tournaments on the 2014 calendar, and kicks off the season for all of the pros.  One of my favorite parts about the Australian open is the timing; since Australia is halfway across the world, the live coverage of the tournament airs late at night.  January nights for me consist of me finishing my work and getting into bed watching the tournament.  This is a great memory that I have, and I think I will always watch the Australian Open consistently when I'm older.

Senior's Schedules

Senior year is supposed to be a great year for high school students.  College is on the horizon, school is becoming slightly less important, and you are not bogged down with as much work as you had last year.  SAT's and ACT's are a thing of the past, and you are now focusing on newer and more exciting things.  I think that the school should do a better job of giving seniors a preference regarding their schedules.


There are so many downsides to the options seniors can pick regarding their schedules.  If seniors decide to take first and second period off, they are faced with not being able to find a reasonable parking spot in the morning.  This is extremely annoying; I think the school should give seniors permission to utilize spots around the school campus, other than those designated in the senior parking lot.  Schedules are not flexible enough, also, for students to take off in the morning and also in the afternoon.  Guidance should work with the school board to improve conditions for the senior population in High School East.

Time Budgeting

I find that when I have an extremely busy week ahead of me, what helps me the most is to plan out my work schedule.  I think that kids my age often times do not have the ability to prioritize, and end up wasting valuable time doing pointless and useless things.  It is also very difficult for athletes to manage time efficiently; as a tennis player, I do schoolwork around practices and tournaments.  Time management is a huge part of the real world, and I think that kids should start practicing now before it matters.

I also think that high school coaches should be more lenient with practices.  My tennis team has not lost a match in over two years, yet we still have an afternoon practice every single day.  In addition to weekday practices, we often have to wake up early on saturday mornings to practice.  Coaches should take students lives into consideration and work with them and their schedules.

High School Gov and Eco

I love the idea of our high school having a Government class.  Government is a crucial part of our American society, and I think that it is becoming somewhat of a lost art.  Most Americans do not have a thorough understanding of our great government, and are somewhat ignorant towards what goes on in Washington.  Government is also a class that is rarely taught in college, especially American government.  High school is truly one of the only times that students can take a class that explains the ins and outs of our American government.  This further allows our district to stand out and gives us as a student population an edge of knowledge.

Economics is another great course that our school offers.  My favorite part about economics is that it will give students an idea if they are interested in anything business-related.  Economics is pretty indicative towards a business mind, and I think it gives students a great idea if they are interested in that sort of field.  Another great part about this class is that it provides kids with college credits.  If students taking eco do well on the AP exam, they can potentially get out of a class like "economics 101" in college.  This is beneficial and a great aspect of our district.

Catching Zzz's

More times than not, high school students do not gain nearly the amount of sleep that would be considered healthy.  Most of my friends stay up past 12 a.m. on school nights and have to wake up only 6 hours later.  According to many studies done by researchers looking into this topic, kids, especially growing teens, should be getting 8-10 hours of sleep each night.  Should schools in America be pushing back high school start times?  I personally think so, but it is definitely a subject worthy of discussion.



My idea for high schools and school districts nationwide is to implement a reversed schedule.  A reversed schedule is exactly what it sounds like: it reverses the times of elementary schools and high schools, letting the high schools start around 9 a.m. and having the elementary school students start at the original high school time, which is usually around 7 a.m.  What this does is it gives the older students not only more time to sleep, but time to do work.  High school students are exponentially more demanded by their classes than elementary school students are.  For a high school student like myself, to play a sport, do homework, study, and then practice SAT's and ACT's in one night is a lot.  I think many high school students would sympathize with my plan, and I hope that this idea can gain further recognition around the country.

College Decisions

For many kids my age, its prime time in thinking about college.  Students are beginning to take different factors into consideration when thinking about colleges and asking questions specifically about a school.  How big is it?  What kind of majors are prominent here?  Do they have good sports teams?  All of these questions are valid ones, and will lead kids towards finding the perfect school for them

But does an athletic program really define a college decision, or justify a reason to go to a certain school?  Take Michigan State, for example.  They have average academics, but their sports programs are unbelievable.  Michigan State is one of the leading schools in the most popular sports, which are football and basketball.  Students sometimes lose focus when thinking about the great sports a school might have.  Most kids do not register the mere fact that there are only 7 home games in an entire season.  So, should a colleges sports program dictate the decisions of students coming out of high school?  Its a question to think about and to consider in a students ultimate college decision.

Productive Anxiety

For many people, including myself, being productive is a great way to feel good and relieve stress.  Being productive can exist in many different forms; it can be a student accomplishing a lot of work, a mother running a ton of errands, or a business man making a profit gain by the end of the day.  But what makes people productive? I have my own theories about this phenomena.

I think that people will naturally gain stress no matter what happens.  Whether they have a lot of work to do or have to meet a deadline, people will have anxiety about things in all situations.  I think that it is the anxiety itself that forces people to go to work.  When I am stressed about something, the only plausible way to relieve that stress is to do whatever it is that is stressing me out.  Through this, I am inevitably being productive through accomplishing the tasks that I had to do.  Productive stress can be a great thing, for it gets more things done than more people think.  Every high school junior, like myself, knows this feeling!

Community Service Requirements

I personally think that community service should be a requirement by high schools.  Community service is not only a great way to give back to the community, but it is also a way to feel satisfied about yourself.  In our modern day society, there are rare instances where we see good morals exhibited on a daily basis.  I think that if we require community service, students will understand the value of helping others.

Community service isn't only useful for self-satisfaction; they instill good morals and build up students character.  By consistently doing community service, students will be demonstrating quality citizenship on a daily basis.  Another key aspect that community service emphasizes is discipline.  I think that if students have to do community service, they will be forced to budget their time better.  With another activity on their plate, students will have to prioritize, thus furthering their preparation for the real world in the future.  Community service is a great way to improve students and create higher quality citizens for the future.

2 Hour Delay

Due to the extreme cold, Half Hollow Hills implemented a 2 hour delay on Monday.  It was probably the highlight of everyones weeks, which is never a bad thing.  More times than not, Half Hollow Hills will keep school in session no matter what happens.  What made it so easy for the district to delay schools?

There were a number of factors that could have contributed to the delay we had.  One theory that I heard in my bio class was that the busses wouldn't start under such cold temperatures.  Another theory was that since the snow had just recently melted from our snowstorm, all of the water would freeze and make for dangerous driving conditions.  Even though the delay might have seemed unnecessary, I am sure that all of the students were very grateful for it.

New Years Resolution

Every single year I think to myself, "This year is going to be completely different."  More times than not, I stay relatively the same and continue my lazy and bad habits from the year before.  Instead of making a resolution, which is sometimes too big to swallow for most people, I think that I can make a series of reasonable and organized steps to improving my life and well-being.

This year I would love to improve my tennis rank.  It is unreasonable to tell myself that I will be top 100 by March; however, I think that I can put in a little extra effort each time I practice and improve myself in that respect.  My rank will come with my improvement in my game, and I think that if I focus on my skill rather than my rank, I will satisfy myself in the future.

School is another aspect which I'd like to improve in.  I know that I am a good student and that I always do my work; however, I think that I could definitely work harder and study more for better results.  Instead of burning meaningless time watching television or on the computer, I could do more work that might be due at a later date or get some SAT or ACT work done for myself.

I'm not saying I will be a completely different person, but this year will definitely be one for making myself better overall.

Classless Society

Its around that time of year.  Particularly from a town like Dix Hills, kids over break will be traveling near and far, to beach resorts or to ski getaways.  Everyone loves a vacation every now and again, but with social media being so popular today, high school students in particular can take their trips a little too far by documenting their each and every move.  Between a trillion pictures on Facebook and an unnecessary amount of tweets, I think that some kids do not realize that there is an entire population of people who never get the chance to travel like they do.

The question I'd like to ask today is this: Do you think that there should be a level of sympathy shown for kids who do not have the opportunity to go away, or do you think that it is honest and within their justification to post pictures of them having a great time?  Even myself, having gone away every single break for the last 15 years, I still think about those who are seeing what I am doing from the outside.  Should people be so empathetic to not post pictures and tweet about their vacation?  Its a question thats interesting, and should spark a number of different perspectives.

Undergraduate Struggles

There are thousands of kids in the United States who are going into college undecided regarding a major.  The college life allows for so many avenues that kids do not always have a defined path for themselves.  This is understandable, and it is why the college life can sometimes be very interesting.

A statistic shows that around 70% of college students change their major at least once.  I found this fascinating.  After visiting many schools myself and listening in on college presentations, I found that colleges actually encourage exploring different majors and finding what is best for a student.  BU, for example, has 9 different undergraduate schools, some of which including business, communications, and hospitality.  BU actually pushes their students to take as many classes as possible in different schools to get a feel for what is really out there.  I really liked the way they gave so many opportunities, and I agree with the method of trying different things out.  What if I'm set on a business major, but I turn out to have some amazing skill for computer science?  The idea of trying new things comforted me, and made me realize nothing you do in college, even beyond, has to be set in stone.

High School Sports and Recruiting

Any competitive athlete in the high school level understands the pressure put on them when it comes to college recruiting.  Tennis, specifically, has taken a toll on my high school life and has added pressure to my already stressful high school life.  Between training during the week and competing on the weekends, high school sports are a bigger part of a students life than most people think.

The recruiting process, however, can be very exciting, especially to a young and ambitious athlete like myself.  I enjoy watching my ranking move, and I am excited to hear back from different college coaches in the near future.

High school and college sports give kids an edge when entering the real world.  I think that if one is committed to a sport for 8 or so years, which is the length of high school and college (usually) combined, they will have a higher level of discipline than that of a student who doesn't partake in sports.  People even say that employers consider an applicants athletic career, for it shows consistent dedication and a hard working manor throughout.