Winter is often stressful for many high school students. Most students have finals in December, and seniors who choose to apply to college have their application deadlines. The transition from middle school to high school is drastic can be overwhelming and confusing for many freshmen. Balancing extracurriculars with school work and studying for every class takes adjustment. High school has a much different workload and many do not know how to go about it. FHS freshman, Sonia Pathik, believes that high school is very different because of a heavier workload and a lack of micromanagement that was prevalent in middle school. 

“It was a lot more manageable [in middle school], and I feel like in high school, it’s kind of overwhelming but I’m trying to adjust,” Pathik said. 

The drastic leap between responsibilities in middle school and high school can lead to students becoming lost in their work.​​ Additionally, many students shy away from asking for help due to fear or embarrassment.

“Some teachers, you can tell that they’re a lot more open to helping students,” Pathik said. 

 Asking for help from teachers seems intimidating to many students, especially freshmen. Fortunately, there are other resources to help them accomplish work such as FHS’s peer-to-peer tutoring program, Students for Success, which includes help from students, teachers and fellow classmates. Additionally, students can communicate with their teachers to get extensions on certain assignments or extra help if they find themselves struggling.  

 FHS senior Nina Behrens balances school work with college applications and three jobs. She manages this by prioritizing each activity and deciding an order in which to accomplish everything. 

But finding a routine to stick to and getting used to this habit can take a while. Like many students, Behrens did not start high school with her ideal study habits. She progressed over the years until she found a routine that worked well for her. 

“Sophomore year I didn’t care about my schoolwork, but I feel like I’m a lot more responsible,” Behrens said. “I have a better way to go about my time management and I have a lot more priorities and goals.” 

Many students find setting priorities to be helpful in getting work done. By prioritizing certain activities, a timeline is able to be set, making it less overwhelming and easier to accomplish. 

However, many students struggle with prioritizing their mental health over school work. By putting school work first and one’s health second, it becomes much easier to forget self-care when workloads become larger. Deirdre Louie, one of the school-based therapists at FHS, believes that prioritizing one’s mental health is crucial, especially in stressful times such as finals or college application season. When asked what students tend to prioritize more, Louie explained that it depends on the student, but on average, kids prioritize their academic success over mental health. Louie believes that prioritizing self-care is crucial to avoid students getting overworked. Bherens prioritizes her health by exercising daily and ensuring that she does not overwork herself with college applications and long shifts.

“It’s really important that everyone prioritizes their physical health and mental health before school and I know it’s really hard due to outside factors like your parents or teachers or how hard you are on yourself,” Behrens said. 

However, Behrens affirms that mental health should always be valued over schoolwork. One way students can lower their stress during school is by seeing a school-based therapist or their counselor to work on mental health and to come up with a plan to keep on top of their work. Many students come to the school therapists for support when school or their personal life becomes stressful. Louie sees a number of students throughout the year, but some seasons are more stressful for students than others.

“September and October can get busy because it’s after that first grading period. The progress report comes out and people’s grades might not be what they thought they were going to be or wanted them to be,” Louie said. 

Some students go to teachers for help with studying or stress, others go to their counselor or school-based therapist. The resources FHS provides are there so students have easy access to help or support when they need it. Therapists, counselors, tutor groups and teachers provide help in different ways, but they are all available to students throughout the year.