With every new school year comes new students. There are about 90 new ninth graders who came to our school, and every student has a different perspective on their transition into Harvard-Westlake and how the school year has gone so far. Many students play a sport and have to balance school with extracurriculars. Each and every person has a unique schedule with various activities and non–school commitments, which is a major reason why each student’s transition is different.
“The transition has been pretty smooth sports–wise, academically it’s a little tougher,” Dylan Tatum ‘22 said.
“It’s been a little challenging but I’ve gotten used to it,” Niko Price ‘22 said in terms of his transition.
Harvard-Westlake (HW) is known to be mentally and physically strenuous. In terms of its workload: “It was very difficult at first, but I started using my free periods and meeting with teachers, and that helped me a lot,” Skylar Gerhardt ‘22 said about her schoolwork. For many students at HW, it has proven vital to meet with one’s teachers in order to stay on top of one’s classwork and homework.
Many students come to school not knowing many current or incoming students, but in Tatum’s case, he already knew his whole sports team. “I knew my whole baseball team and a couple kids that already went here,” Tatum said.
Even though it is just the beginning of the school year, some may already have an aspect of HW that they value most. “I love meeting new people, and the environment is very welcoming,” Gerhardt said.
New student Hailey Hubbard ’22 spoke about an average day of her life at HW. Hubbard starts her day by riding the bus to school. “I get on the bus at 7:05 and I get to school at 7:30,” Hubbard said. She takes all of her core classes, but in terms of frees, “I have at least three, sometimes four [free periods],” said Hubbard. In addition to her core classes, Hubbard also takes electives. “I take Intro to Programming I and yearbook,” Hubbard said. In terms of after school sports. “I play soccer outside of school and I do lifting during the school day,” Hubbard said.
Each of the students interviewed had something positive to say about their HW experience so far, and as they continue to get settled, they will become more accustomed to the community.
