With school starting back, the struggles have also returned.
Some South High students shared how they are dealing with these struggles for the 2024-25 school year.
As freshman Genesis Ventura said, the hardest thing about coming back to school is finding her classes. She said she is starting to get used to it and finding her classes faster.
Another thing Ventura said she struggles with in the fall is staying focused. Like kids everywhere, South students struggle to stay focused on their studies at times, especially during the back-to-school months.
Junior Yazlin Lopez agreed with Ventura about how hard it can be to get to your classes. They both said that the halls can get very crowded, but they have been able to find new ways to get to class without having to make their way through crowded spaces.
Lopez also agreed with Ventura about staying focused. Lopez said that between school and sports, it can be difficult. Lopez’ biggest struggle is balancing everything and being successful at it all. One of the ways she has overcome this is by keeping a calendar in her room.
“I write down my assignments and practices on my calendar and on my reminder app on my phone,” she said.
As a senior with things to prepare for, Juan Cantu Bautizta agreed with writing things down on his reminder app.
Students generally have said that writing down the things they need to do can help a lot, since most people tend to forget, and writing things down can help a person stay on task.
Cantu said he is also trying to be more organized this year to keep himself on track for what he needs to do, and his reminders are what are helping him.
When asked about the new phone policy – no phones out during class time – students said they found it helpful in a way. “I tend to do my work faster this way in order to get my phone back,” Lopez added.
Ventura said she finds the new phone policy helpful because she is more focused on what the teacher is saying and tries to get work done instead of being distracted by her device.
They all agreed saying that although they would like to have their phones, the new policy is a good one because they can now pay attention since it is hard to refocus after being away from the classroom all summer.
Coming back to school can be hard, but utilizing some of these tips can help students have a great year.
