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Twenty More Tips for Surviving the School Year: 

Online School Edition!

 

          Welcome back to We Hear You, Hopkins! The first week of the new school year has come and gone, and we hope it was a good one for both our Maroon and Grey cohorts. If it wasn't, well, do we have a solution for you! Whether it is your first year at Hopkins or your last, here is a list of 20 tips for online school from former and current students that you should (hopefully) find helpful! 

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  1. Try to pretend like it’s normal school. At least two times a week, I tried to wear jeans instead of sweats like I would have in-person so I didn’t fall asleep in my chair at home. Little things like that help the whole experience for me and maybe other people too. - Sydney Matthews, ‘23

  2. Get outside in your free time, even if it’s just for five or ten minutes. - Cornelia Streeter, ‘23

  3. Always speak up when you have a question, no matter how awkward you think it might be since all eyes are on you (with Zoom). And the same goes when asking for help. I thought teachers would be more hesitant or have a tighter schedule, but never be afraid to ask a teacher for help. - Kallie Schmeisser, ‘22

  4. Set up times to do other stuff (FaceTime friends, watch TV, etc.) so that you can unwind without feeling like you are procrastinating. Do not go on social media, or you will fall down a rabbit hole. - Alexandra Mathews, ‘22

  5. If you visit friends on the weekend, please still wear a mask. If you don’t, it undoes all the work we do as a school during the week to keep people safe. - Talia Chang, ‘22

  6. Take your earbuds/AirPods out between classes. Lowkey so helpful. It lets my ears relax and gives me a little break between classes. - Evan Alfandre, ‘21

  7. Use your planner! Sort out which weeks you are going to be in school and online. It’s also hard getting up in the morning, so find something to look forward to! Like coffee…  - Julia An, ‘21

  8. Remember to check in on your friends who aren’t in your week! These are weird times! - Livy Burdo, ‘21

  9. Separate your Zoom space from your bedroom because you want your bedroom to be a relaxing place to come back to at night, not a room with stressful vibes. - Kate Collier, 21

  10. Have a snack or drink next to your computer so you never get hungry. - Emmett Dowd, ‘21

  11. Make sure you set timers or reminders on your phone for each class to make sure you’re not late to your Zoom classes, and invest in a monitor if you usually use a laptop - it’s way less strain on your eyes than staring at a little screen all day! - Ella Fujimori, ‘21

  12. Try to get off your electronics as much as possible (although I know it’s hard with Zoom and homework). Otherwise, your eyes will probably hurt by the end of the day. - Erin Kelleher, ‘21

  13. Don’t let the lack of in-person class time with your teachers prevent you from continuing to communicate with them via email, Zoom, etc. - Riley Lipman, ‘21

  14. Stay hydrated and remember to eat. - Craigin Maloney, ‘21

  15. Remember to give your eyes a rest. Look around and get outside. - Sawyer Maloney, ‘21

  16. Set alarms for your classes. - Lola Panagos, ‘21

  17. Designate one free period a day to take a break from homework. Get fresh air, make a snack, or watch some YouTube. It is really important to recharge your brain. Also, maybe invest in some blue light glasses. - Grace Rhatigan, ‘21

  18. Don’t push work to the last minute and then you will have time for other things. - Drew Williams, ‘21

  19. Check in on your friends! All in this together type beat. - Leah Miller, ‘20

  20. As tempting as it is, don’t attend class while lying in bed. - Jackson Weisman, ‘20

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         COVID-19 may have changed how school looks this year, but we will all figure it out together. 

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~ Erin Kelleher and Grace Rhatigan

Twenty Tips for Surviving the School Year

 

          Welcome to We Hear You! For our first article, we have compiled a list of students’ tips to make the school year more bearable. As we are now well into our first month of school, it is crucial to maintain a balance between school work and extracurriculars at Hopkins. Below are twenty tips from Hopkins students in grades 9-12 to better your academics and improve your mental health. We hope this advice allows for a successful (and enjoyable) school year!

 

  1. Try to get as much work done as you can in your free periods; that way, you can spend more time with your family when you get home, or you can catch up on sleep! - Cornelia Streeter ‘23

  2. Planning is essential— everything from homework to meeting with teachers to the history paper. - Joshua Ferreira ‘22

  3. Keep a positive mindset. - Michelle Grutzendler ‘22

  4. Sleep as much as possible, and meet with your teachers. -Sofia Karatzas ‘22

  5. Sleep. - Emma Maldon ‘22

  6. Don’t procrastinate your homework. - Ellie Medovnikov ‘22

  7. Manage your time well, and make sure you sleep. - Evan Alfandre ‘21

  8. Portable charger. - Hudson Berk ‘21

  9. Just make it to a day off or a long weekend to recharge, and then do it all over again. - Suraj Kalaria ‘21

  10. Don’t stay up until 12am watching Kids Baking Championship or Bachelor in Paradise. - Riley Lipman ‘21

  11. Don’t be afraid or ashamed or embarrassed to ask for help. Every adult on campus (and most kids too) will gladly help, and it’s so much better than struggling silently. - Izzy Melchinger ‘21

  12. Make your mental and physical health a higher priority than academics. Have a healthy social life. - Kristjan Arnarsson ‘20

  13. Sleep is always more important than homework! Also, try and talk to someone new, not only students, but all the faculty are super nice. Ms. Silk is so sweet and has good mints (she only tells you it’s too much after six mints). And a tad late, but almost all textbooks have online (usually) free pdfs. - Eva Brander Blackhawk '20

  14. Procrastinate responsibly. Starting an essay at 8pm the night before is an acceptable risk. Starting at 12am is not. Also, break any big projects or essays into smaller chunks of work and take breaks in between (an hour, ten minutes, it really depends on how responsibly you procrastinated). - Ryan Caine ‘20

  15. Have something in your school day that isn’t school-centered, whether it’s playing basketball or taking a walk or something; don’t spend your whole day in the library. - Griffin Congdon ‘20

  16. Have a bedtime that when even if you haven’t finished homework you go to sleep by. - Anna Simon ‘20

  17. Try to surround yourself with people with similar goals as you so you can work together in a happy learning environment! - Emi Krishnamurthy ‘20

  18. Start studying for tests sooner than you think, even if it’s only two days before instead of the night before. And SLEEP! When you get sufficient sleep, you focus more in school, and you do homework faster at home. Crazy but true. - Izzy Lopez-Kalapir ‘20

  19. Surround yourself with people who bring out the best version of you. - Brody Lustberg ‘20

  20. I know it’s not fun, but doing homework due for later days can help free up your time in the future to hang with friends, watch football, etc. - Jackson Weisman ‘20

 

          We have a long school career ahead of us, and it never hurts to try different strategies for organization and time management. Students experience Hopkins in different ways, so one method that worked for someone else may not work for everyone— and that’s okay. As we tough out our third week back from summer, if you are already feeling overwhelmed, just breathe. You will get into a routine, you will get that paper done, and your hard work will be rewarded. Take as much time as you can to be present, because high school goes by quicker than you would expect.

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~ Erin Kelleher and Grace Rhatigan

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