By Young Se Choi ’18

At one point in our lives, we are or will be ninth graders…unfortunately.  Although most students from the class of 2017 say, “I’m getting into the swing of things” or “I can adjust,” by the looks of it, I think they miss the good ol’ middle school.  After you become the “king of middle school,” the next year you will have entered a whole other world.  As most students at NA know, the general schedules of the high school and middle school are quite different.  For example, the upper school students have to eat at a later time then the middle school students, which drives them absolutely nuts.  While middle school students eat at 11:30, upper school students have their mouths watering until 11:45.  “The lunch schedule is super annoying, we have to eat 15 minutes after you guys,” said Mark Berger in the ninth grade.  Once in a while, you’ll see an upper student try to sneak into the lunch without getting caught, but most of the time they utterly fail. 

Another change that occurs when you get into the ninth grade is academics.  When you get into the high school, you will tend to have honor and regular classes or maybe all honors.  Therefore, expectations are elevated and it becomes more competitive.  Alex Chang from the ninth grade said, “Academic expectations have been heightened, but I am absolutely confident that I can adjust to the challenge.” 

In addition to the academic challenges, athletics have been hardened also.  In high school, instead of having to try out for the A or B team, they have varsity and junior varsity.  Even the athletics in high school stepped up a notch.  The practices for high school students start right after the middle school practices, so you get to have a little free time before you head off to sports.  “I like the transition between academic classes and athletic practices,” says a student in the ninth grade.  So what do high school students think about this “cultural shock” as freshmen?  Jason Katz says, “In the beginning it was very hard to know where I was supposed to be, but after that I adjusted better.”  Returning ninth grade students Shaan Pandiri and Paul Brown said, “As freshmen, some of the schedule changes are really annoying while some of them are quite helpful.”  In addition, there is an increased number of students.  In the ninth grade, there are approximately thirty to forty new students, so it is easier to make more friends.  This article was not to make you afraid of being a ninth grader, but it gives you a little taste of the fun and wild journey ahead of you.