By Celina Chen ’28, Columnist

Welcome back to A Word of Advice! Today we have a question from Emma Siegel ’26, one that I’m sure many of you can relate to.

“I’m having trouble focusing when studying at Newark Academy. What tips do you have?”

As a fellow student who can only concentrate in complete silence, I’ve battled this problem since freshman year. Now that the library is the only phone-friendly refuge in school, it has become a magnet for “studying.” This combination of stressed students and phones can make the library a rowdy location. Unless you have noise-canceling headphones, your next best option is the conference rooms. 

An empty conference room is incredibly rare, and for a reason. You have your own space to yourself, are far away from any kinds of noise, and even have a whiteboard to scribble notes on. Unfortunately, most days both rooms are occupied, often with just a strategically placed backpack or pencil case. 

You might then think, What about the Great Hall? A large, echoing space next to the gym sounds promising. After school, when various different sports must endure DeChino’s conditioning, the Great Hall becomes a wall of noise. Still, if you manage to find an empty nook during a free period or lunch, when it’s quiet, success!

So if all of these locations have some downside, where are you supposed to scrape together that chemistry lab due third period? 

Here’s the ultimate secret: Kaltenbacher classrooms. 

They are spacious, lined with whiteboards, and most importantly, silent. As long as the room is unoccupied by an incoming class, ask a teacher for a key and get to work. It’s the closest thing NA has to a guaranteed study.

Hopefully this helps you reclaim your focus and, as always, make sure to email cchen28@newarka.edu to be featured in the next edition of A Word of Advice!