By Julianna Flamm
Do you remember what you thought of your freshmen year of high school? In order to provide a new perspective, many freshmen have shared their first impressions of Irvington High School for the 2024-2025 school year.
In a 51-person survey conducted by The Paw Print, 78.4% of freshmen rated Irvington High School as “it’s okay,” 21.6% of freshmen rated it as “really enjoying it,” and 0% put “I hate it” as their first impression of the school. Some common themes in the “why” section of the survey were workload and friends.
While a few people complained of not having enough friends in their classes, most people are happy with their social situation. Regarding academics, about half the students who filled out the survey thought they had more work, while the other half thought they had less.
As freshmen look towards four years in a new school, they feel a mix of emotions.
Freshman Leo Schutz sums it up with “everything looks exciting, new campus, new classes, it’s also very stressful, new campus, new classes.”
A couple of freshmen new to the district filled out their opinions of Irvington on the form sent out. One rated school as “really enjoying it.”
This freshman wrote, “way better than my old [school].”
Another freshman, new to the district, wrote, “I’m new to the district and it’s been a lot to deal with. Just the small ‘hellos’ in the hallways really improve my day, regardless of whether or not I know them.”
One new student simply wrote, “Idk it’s school, but I’m also new here.”
Many students coming from Irvington Middle School have different perspectives to share. While there is much positivity, a few students are finding themselves struggling in the new school.
One person filling out the survey wrote in their first impression as simply “homework.”
Another filled out the form saying, “I like the social aspect, not the school aspect.”
While some freshmen find the workload to be a lot or enjoy seeing their friends more than seeing the school, the outlook is overwhelmingly positive.
Going into the new school year, most freshmen are looking forward to this year and high school as a whole. Even with the stress of a new school, most freshmen have a positive outlook on the coming years.
As Samuel Lee, vice president of the 9th grade student council for 2024 puts it, “It looks like it’s gonna be a good year, the teachers don’t seem to be assigning too much work, they all seem fair and reasonable, so yeah, I think it’s gonna be a good year.”
