Picture this:

Big school, little you. It’s your first day of freshman year and you see senior girls in their blue shirts running around and blowing whistles in your ear. Older boys are standing next to you that are taller than your dad. You hear the bell, watch everyone disperse and are left walking back and forth in desperate need to find your classroom.

We’ve all been there and will all probably be there again. Surviving the first week of a new school.

Now, here are the top five differences for all you freshman, from middle school to high school.

1. Freedom

Welcome to highschool. Rule number one: no rules.

Not exactly but that’s what you hear when you ask any freshman what high school is like. ‘Teachers don’t tell you what to do all the time’ ‘Theres so much more freedom’ is the common buzz the first week of school throughout the freshman ghetto in the cafeteria.

2. New People

“The first day of school I walked into class and saw maybe three faces that I knew,” Aliza Dodge ’18 began, “I found my seat next to two girls from Bedford who I never knew, along with the 17 other kids in my class who I didn’t know.”

Not only are there two different middle schools that come together in the high school, but the halls are swarming with upperclassmen and new kids.

Fatima Alanis ’18 enjoys seeing new faces at each turn, “I see friends who I used to play sports with across the hall and we exchange a hello and talk again, picking up just where we left off, even if it was three or more years ago.”

 3. Five Star Dining

Okay, maybe not. But definitely an upgrade from the middle school cafeteria. Your everyday pretzels and popcorn chicken is instantly transformed into a more gourmet array of choices. You can have a salad, sandwich, pizza, soup, fruits, veggies, and the list continues now including sushi on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

4. Responsibility

Sam New ’18 describe a big change in high school his classes by saying, “The teachers trust you more. They give you work and expect you to do it, whether you do it or not is your own personal choice and responsibility.”

Despite all the fun and games, Alanis reminds us how the classes are much more demanding.

“It was only the first week but I already had a German quiz, we learned a new piece in Orchestra, started a book in Global. I’m exhausted!” Alanis said.

5. Size

I think we would all be lying if we said that we have never gotten lost in Staples.

On your freshman tour you will hear ‘Its easy, the numbers count up starting on the left side of the building making their way up moving to the right.’ But its not always as easy as it sounds.

Big or small, hard or easy, Staples High School is found to be a caring, intellectual, and fun home for all of it’s students throughout the school year.