We Made it Fam

I know that I don’t post often and that really sucks for those of you out there. However, if you’re a current smath student, you should be too busy living your life to have time to read this.
I graduated. I did it. It doesn’t feel real and it felt so odd not to come back from extended yesterday. I’m not afraid to go to college or anything. I’m afraid to leave everything behind. Yes, I was not a straight ‘A’ student. I made some bad choices. I lost sleep. I cried a lot. The food was crap. The work was hard. But, the people were worth it. If I could do it over again, I would choose science and math. This school has given me the chance to grow and find myself. Additionally, I found life long friends. They were people that allowed me to truly be myself. They were people that I could communicate with in just noises. I’m not worried about never seeing my best friends. I’m worried about never seeing those random kids in the hallway who brightened my day with just one look, that one dude who was in my calc pod, or my physics partner that I used to cry with. I will never be able to sit in Dr. Miller’s office to contemplate life. Nor will I be able to sled down the soccer field on a trash can lid.
Science and math was a struggle, but it has been the most rewarding experience of my lifetime. I could go on and on, but no words can truly express the gratitude that I feel (also, I’m very lazy). Part of me wanted to stay forever, but part of me couldn’t wait to come home. I’m not sure what I want, but I’m glad that smath happened. Sitting there on Watt’s Lawn, getting that diploma from JTodd, and moving out still seem surreal. Those last few days at smath were some of the best days of my life. They are days you tell your juniors about all year, but they come and go very quickly. If you are lucky enough to be accepted to smath, you should go. If you go, never take it for granted. It often feels so normal that you forget that you are at one of the best high schools in the country. Smath is a truly unique experience.
I’m sorry for the bad writing and all, but I just felt as though I needed to give closure to this blog. I know that a lot of you are wondering who we (the bloggers) are, but we decided to add our identities to the countless secrets that smath holds.

My Biggest Mistake

I’ve made a lot of mistakes since I’ve gotten to smath. But they all seem minuscule in comparison to this one. I should not have gotten so close to my senior class. They were the most wonderful people that I have ever met. I knew (or at least recognized) most of them. Everyone was nice and willing to help. The seniors on my hall never failed to brighten my day, make me laugh, or give advice. After extendeds we reunited like we hadn’t seen each other in years. During extended we were in constant touch. The night before graduation we cried. We cried right before their last check, during their last housekeeping, or even when we just looked at each other during the last day. Then, they left. It was scary. It was sad. It was the worst experience of my life (and trust me that’s saying something). Then I moved in for my senior year. I missed my seniors but knew I’d be okay without them. I wanted to be a great senior to my juniors because I wanted them to have the relationships that I had. But it hasn’t worked, yet. People keep telling me that it’s only the first week, but at this point last year I had already developed meaningful relationships. My hallmates were my best friends. They still are. But I haven’t connected with my juniors well. It may sound like I am hung up on my seniors and give the juniors a chance, but I did give them a chance. That’s all I’ve done the past week (if you think a week is a short amount of time check out my post about smath time and you’ll understand). I’m done trying. I don’t hate them or even dislike them. I haven’t connected with them. They prefer to stick to their class. They find us intimidating. They are already cliquey (thanks to the lovely Facebook). They came to school with pre-existing friends. I know that I’ll have a different relationship with my juniors, but it won’t be as meaningful. Every junior I’ve met is great, but we haven’t made that connection that all smathers have. Smath kids are just different from everyone else and I don’t see that in this class. This post probably sounds terrible, but my seniors were great. I wish I could stay in my junior year forever. My juniors are great too but I wish they’d open up to my class.

The First Week (Or Two)

Hello Friends!

I move in tomorrow! I’m so excited, but also not so excited because the pfm, schoolwork, and college apps. But I’m not here to rant, this post actually has a purpose! This is mainly geared towards my baby junes so they know what to expect in the first few weeks.

So basically, seniors are divided into 3 groups to move in. RLAs moved in on Sunday to begin their RLA training with RLA week. The rest of the leadership positions will move in tomorrow (Thursday) to start prepping for the school year (this includes student ambassadors, PCCs, MPCs, attaches, SPLs, smart bar, etc.). Senior Leadership week is pretty much involves meetings, icebreakers, training, and some cool activities. The rest of the senior class moves in on Monday which kind of sucks because classes start on Tuesday.

On Saturday, the juniors will move in. There is a move in schedule in the MyNCSSM portal. Basically, pull up to your designated area and the leadership students will do all the work for you. All I carried to my room last year was my bookbag (this year I will not be so lucky). Make sure you label all your stuff with your name, hall, and room number so students will know where to bring it. Move in junior year was pretty stress free and simple. Try to make a room floor plan with your roommate before you move in so if one of you moves in early furniture can be arranged without conflict.

Saturday will consist of other meetings with and without parents. At some point, your parents will leave. It is sad but you should be excited. Yet, it is also good to take the time for a proper goodbye. That evening there will be a picnic (it rained last year and was moved to the PEC) and an Ice Cream Social/ Dance. Yes, people will dance. I was extremely uncomfortable with that at the beginning of the year and left but this year I’m so excited (note the change smath had on my social skills). Also, you will meet so many people. It is really awkward because you have nothing to talk about. This is the average conversation:

Person 1: Hi, I’m Person 1.
Person 2: Hi, I’m Person 2. Nice to meet you.
Person 1: Where are you from?
Person 2: I’m from _. You?
Person 1:I’m from _.
Person 2: Oh I’ve been there. What hall do you live on?
Person 1:I live on _. You?
Person 2:I live on_.
Person 1:Oh I know _ who lives there.
Person 2:Are you excited for this year?
Person 1:Yea!
*Insert one of the following: awkward silence, a person leaving, or a new person arriving*

Trust me, I don’t remember any of the kids I met. I’m pretty sure I was introduced to the same people multiple times before we were able to remember each other.

The next few days are filled with boring meetings, fun activities, and placement testing (for juniors). There is also textbook distribution on Monday where every hall is given a specific time to pick up books from the book room (located in the PFM on the ground floor). You actually don’t have to follow the time slots because no one does. Getting there earlier means nicer books.
Note: I have no idea what I’ll be doing those first few days after junior move in.

Tuesday is the first day of classes so make sure you follow the TUESDAY timetable. It’s not that hard to get adjusted to the schedule but I recommend following your schedule and finding your classes a few times before Tuesday. No one will blame you if you’re late the first few days… or the rest of the year (most of my teachers didn’t really care). That night is convocation. People dress up, listen to speeches, and socialize.

There are plenty of activities the rest of the week and make sure to go to them to get exposed to the school (remember YOU control YOUR smath experience).

The first real weekend is the club fair and the t shirt signing dance. GO TO BOTH. There are so many clubs and don’t be afraid to join a ton; it’s no commitment. Dance your heart out at the dance (I didn’t dance…again). I still have my shirt though (DONT FORGET TO BRING A PLAIN WHITE SHIRT TO BE SIGNED!) and it’s surprising to see who signed it. The signing is a bit awkward because you still barely know anyone but your hallmates.

On Monday, there is all this mandatory summer reading stuff. There’s a speech and group sessions that are really boring. The group sessions are awkward and no one talks. I get to be one of those lucky leadership students leading a session and dealing with the awkward silence. Luckily, classes are shortened that day. This is also the juniors first day of Supervised Study (feels like I was in it forever ago). HAHA have fun not being able to use your laptops and sitting in a classroom for an hour and a half. But seriously, use the time to do work or study or get ahead in work. It forms a good habit. The day superstudy ends you get donuts and no one does homework because YOLO (please do your homework and don’t disturb the seniors doing homework).

Well that’s all I have to say about that.

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE:
Make the most of every moment at smath. You’re only a junior/senior once so do it right. Participate in everything. Have fun. Don’t be antisocial. Yet, don’t lose sight of academics because ,yes, eventually you will have to apply to college. Feel free to let loose the first few weeks but build good habits (like studying) that will stick with you all year.

I’M SO EXCITED BUT NOT AT THE SAME TIME. THERE IS SO MUCH EMOTION IN ME FOR THIS NEXT YEAR. ALSO IF ANY OF MY SENIORS (CLASS OF 2014) ARE READING, I MISS YOU GUYS SO MUCH PLEASE COME VISIT.

A Place with a Different Sense of Time

I have come to learn that NCSSM is a place where things occur at a different speed. Time actually flies. I mean there are times when class gets boring or there’s a night when there is nothing to do. For most of the time, though, time moves at a warp speed. I believe it is because each and every day is a new day. There are different activities (food runs, hall meetings, sporting events, club meetings, discussions, MLK activities, sustainable events, etc.) each day and your schedule varies each day of the week. It is very different from my life back home where everything was constant. In addition to all of that, relationships also move very fast. People who haven’t known each other for very long begin to date, best friends are made in the matter of a few hours, and these relationships can fall apart just as fast as they formed. This is because all the students live together; people are always surrounded by each other and it is hard to get a break from your peers. Students have the opportunity to spend a lot of time with each other and then can easily get fed up with each other. Everyday at smath is a totally new experience and you never know what you are in for. I can’t believe that half my smath career is already over and sooner than I want, smath will no longer be my home.

Senior Leadership Positions

I know this doesn’t really relate to the incoming class at this point, but I’d rather talk about it now before I forget!

Sometime in February we (juniors) received an email about Senior Leadership positions. These are positions that seniors hold all year and they count as work service. As you know, work service is 3 hours a week, but these seniors tend to put in more than that (especially RLAs).

The positions are: SPL, RLA, Attache, Student Ambassador, MPC, PCC, Smart Bar, and Library Liaison. As you can see, many of these positions use TLAs (three letter acronyms) because it becomes tedious to use the full title. Here is an explanation of every position:

SPL: Sustainability Project Leaders work with Dr. Warshaw. They promote sustainability around campus and host a variety of activities throughout the year. There are usually 4 of them.
RLA: Residential Life Assistants are like RAs in college. There are around 2-4 of them per hall. They plan hall activities, check housekeeping, and take check. This is one of the most competitive positions.
Attache: Attaches work in the Institutional Advancement department. They can deal with anything from fundraising (the Annual Fund), alumni, and legislature. The biggest event that they host is the Fund Run which is a competition among halls that culminates in the eating of a Vermonster. This is another competitive leadership position. There are usually around 20 of them. This upcoming year (2015-2016) there are only around 15. Ms. Carr and Ms. Shephard are the adults in charge of this.
Student Ambassador: Student Ambassadors work with incoming students. They are best known for giving tours of campus. In addition to this, they also work in the Admissions department. Their biggest events are open houses and Discovery Days. Rob Andrews and Mattie Gaddy are in charge of this position. This is another competitive position that holds about 20 students a year.
MPC: Multicultural Peer Counselors break the “Smath Bubble”. When students are on campus they are pretty sheltered from what goes on around the world. MPCs write the “Toilet Paper” that hangs in stalls and keeps students updated with news. They also hold monthly Tea Topics for discussion.
PCC: Peer College Counselors help students with college, scholarships and summer research opportunities. They work with the counseling department to send out newsletters.
Smart Bar: This is an area in the library that deals with tech issues. You can take your computer to the students who work there and they can usually help you out. This is also a junior work service position.
Library Liaison: Library Liaisons work in the library. They shelve books, clean up, and host activities. The librarians include Anthony Myles, and Robin Boltz. There is not a large number of liaisons.

Out of all the positions, RLA is the most coveted. However, each position is important to the function of the school. I do hold a leadership position and the application process was quite stressful. The process included interviews and a common application. I did not get the position that I wanted most. At the time, I was devastated, but now I am really happy with my position (I’m also and alternate for my #1 position). If you don’t get a leadership position, it is not the end of the world. Many teachers take TAs and there are other work service opportunities around campus. Leadership students do get to move in early as well as get the opportunity to be in the drawing for Junior Marshal (Random drawing among leadership students after the leadership results are released. It’s unfair, I know. It has nothing to do with being at the top of your class like it does at traditional high schools).

Everyone has their own opinions when it comes to each position and who should be selected for them. I know of students wanting to move halls for the sole reason that they don’t agree with the choice of RLAs. I know kids who were alternates and ended up getting the position. I know kids who got RLA on a different hall and took it because of the prestige in the position. But, I also know kids who gave up RLA on a different hall because they were too committed to their own hall. I know kids who gave up RLA because their roommate got it (RLAs can’t be roommates). I know of RLAs that worked well together. But, I also know of RLAs who were quarrelsome. I know of student ambassadors who hated waking up to go to open houses. I know of people who took PCC instead of attache. I know of people who were offered every position. I also know many people who weren’t offered any position. The leadership process isn’t considered fair. It’s said that if you’re a softball player or in NIA you get ambassador because Rob coaches and Mattie Gaddy is in charge of NIA. It’s said that if you are in DECA you get attache because Anna is the sponsor. Of course, there are many speculations, but in the end it comes down to the kind of student that you portray yourself to be. Interviews are important, but so are daily interactions with adults on campus. Take time to meet Anna Shephard, Lauren Carr, Rob Andrews, Dr. Warshaw, etc. Even if you aren’t applying for a position it is interesting getting to know the adults that work on campus (many of them attended smath!).

So that was long and rambly. As you can see, I’m a terrible writer and I got off track a lot (explains my AmStud grade).Hopefully, I explained positions pretty well.

Sorry

Hey guys. I’m sorry that I haven’t blogged in a very very very long time. I just never seemed to have the time or energy to write and I honestly wouldn’t have known what to say. I had a few lows this year and I didn’t want to write about them because I didn’t want to scare you off, but now I have a lot to talk about so I will definitely keep you guys updated and sorry if I repeat things that I (or another blogger) has already said in the past.

Smath Update

This is going to be slow and will suck, but eh. So in a nutshell, the first 2 months have been crazy busy. I have so much homework. Classes are hard. There are way to many social activities. I still don’t know anyone’s name. Progress reports come out tomorrow and it’s not going to be pretty. Extended is this weekend. I met some sophomores who are applying at Open House. The PFM is getting worse (I didn’t think it was possible). It is getting cold. There is a lot of stress here. Don’t course overload. My roommate is awesome. My hallmates are amazing. Housekeeping sucks. Room inspection sucks. Supervised study has pros and cons. Last week was I-week. IVIZs are really boring. It gets lonely on the weekends; I don’t know where everyone goes. I’m excited to hear from/ meet all of you that are applying! Feel free to message me with questions!

Move-In Day

I’m going to be completely straightforward. SeeTheDawn will probably give you all the logistics of Move-In Day, so I’m not going to focus on it too much. Today was the best day ever. I love NCSSM. I love my hall. I love my roommate. I love SeeTheDawn (I saw him in a completely awkward encounter during dinner/ice cream social). I love auriee (even though I haven’t seen her yet). Yes, things were crazy today. Yes, the showers were freezing. Yes, it rained on our picnic. Yes, this post is not going to flow. But, I’ve had a great day. I’m so happy to be here. I could not have been paired with better hallmates . I already love them like sisters and I’ve only known them for 13 hours. I’m super tired, so I’m ending this post. I can’t wait for tomorrow even though there are a bunch of boring meetings.

NOTE: It is not that hard to get around campus. If you utilize hill tunnel, you can get pretty much anywhere without having to step outside as long as you are not in Royall. (Don’t completely trust my advice because I’ve only been here for a day.)

Self-Enrollment

I thought self-enrollment would be crazy, but it wasn’t that bad for me. However, students are responsible for scheduling their classes. On Focus, there is an option to view course meeting patterns. This basically tells you when each class is offered (what block and how many times a week). It is relatively simple if you take the time to plan out each trimester. The difficulty comes in when it is time to enter courses into Focus. Here are a few problems people faced (I faced none of them!Yay!):

1. Seniors pick classes 2 days before juniors. Due to this a lot of classes fill up and then are no longer available to the juniors.
2.Every person is given a time as to when they can log into Focus to start entering courses. Time slots are randomly selected. Those who get times later in the day (11 or 12 o’clock) are lucky if they can get their basic classes in. This year there was a shortage of Chemistry and Physics classes. I was lucky and I got 8 AM. I did notice that most of the classes were almost filled to capacity even though the only time slot before mine was 7 AM.
3. At around 8 AM students started posting to Facebook that Focus had crashed. The school was working on this problem and a solution was found.

A few tips about the process:

1. Sometimes students are willing to trade classes or even sell them. Although, I’m not sure if the sale of classes really happens or the students were joking.
2. When you enter course requests, there is a teacher code for each class. This is helpful if you want to make sure that you have the same teacher all 3 trimesters. If you are really interested in having (or avoiding) a teacher, you can log into your family Focus account and instead of teacher codes there will be teacher names.
3.If some classes are really popular, the school will add additional classes. If a class conflicts with a lot of schedules, the school may move that class to a different block.

All in all, it wasn’t a horrible experience for me. It may have been for SeeTheDawn because he was blessed (note sarcasm) with a late time slot. For those of you that are currently entering courses, good luck!

The Welcome Day Experience

For those of you attending Welcome Day II (or maybe you’ll be someone reading this next year), don’t stress. It honestly isn’t bad. Good luck!

For the math placement tests, there are 3 groups: Precalculus, Calculus, and Advanced Math. Precalculus is for those currently in Algebra 2 who are looking to place into Precalculus next year. Calculus is for those in Precalculus looking to place into Calculus. Advanced Math is for those who have already taken Calculus. There are only Precalculus and Calculus tests. Those in Advanced Math had to fill out forms about their math background. I took the Calculus placement test. It was 45 minutes long with 15 questions. They are all short answer. It was actually very easy. Bring a calculator and a pencil!

For the science placement tests, there are 2 groups: those who have taken chemistry and those who have not. For those who have not taken chemistry, there is one 30 minute general science quiz with 34 questions. For those who have taken chemistry there are 2 tests. One is physical science the other is chemistry. The chemistry test is 45 minutes long with around 30 questions. The physical science is easy, but the chemistry one is really hard. Bring a pencil, but you CANNOT use your calculator.

Make sure that you bring all of your forms with you. However, if you don’t bring your forms they have extras. All of the forms are included in the Welcome Day packet. It is around 35 pages.

Welcome Day was a fun experience! I made many friends (I guess I can call them friends). Some kids were weird, but for the most part they are just like normal kids (except for being way smarter). The current students were so nice. They were friendly and willing to help. For example, I was in the PFM (Perkin’s Food Management or the cafeteria) eating lunch when this random junior sat down with me and starting giving me advice and answering my questions. They are really lovely people and I’m so excited to have the opportunity to go to school with them next year.

On Welcome Day, you can take tours of the residential halls (Beall, Bryan, Reynolds, and Royall are for girls. Hill and Hunt are for guys.) and there is a club fair. The clubs were really interesting and there were so many of them! Although I didn’t see it, one of the teachers told me that there was a robot that the students had made that was capable of throwing frisbees.

Welcome Day is the day when it all becomes real, but don’t let it intimidate you. Meet new people and don’t be afraid to open up. In a way, you have a chance to start high school again. Do it the right way.