The Best Advice for a Successful School Year

Juniors Abby Hutner, Kelsey Lopez, Ciara Hernon, Eileen Brennan, Emily Rose, and Regina Crevier on the first day of school.

Juniors Abby Hutner, Kelsey Lopez, Ciara Hernon, Eileen Brennan, Emily Rose, and Regina Crevier on the first day of school.

A new school year is once again upon us!  As this process can bring out the best hopes along with some worries, The Looking Glass has assembled the best advice from last year’s students to help every rising sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grader get through the year a little bit better.

For Sixth Graders Welcome to Montrose! Follow this advice to have a great first year.

  • “Don’t put off your homework.  Instead, do it as soon as possible, and then you can do whatever you want!” -Kate Pioch ‘22
  • “Be yourself and don’t stop smiling!” (Anonymous)
  • “Don’t stress out.  You’re going to love Montrose.” Ana Fernandez ‘22
  • “Stay organized.” (Anonymous)

For Seventh Graders Congratulations, you’ve made it through your first year at Montrose.  Want to make seventh grade even better?

  • “Do your homework and have it in on time!” (Anonymous)
  • Try to think of one positive thing about your least favorite class every time that you have that class. Now that most of you are about to become teenagers, you may have more trouble seeing the glass half full, so try to be optimistic.” Anna Sheehan ‘21
  • “Stay close to all your returning friends, but be welcoming and friendly to the newcomers too.” (Anonymous)

For Eighth Graders You have reached your last year of middle school, a challenging year that gets you ready for upper school success.  Make it unforgettable with these tips.

  • “It’s important to remember that one bad grade will not ruin the rest of your life. Most likely, you’re going to get grades that you won’t be satisfied with at the beginning of the year, but don’t stress about it. If you continue to work hard, those grades with get better, and you will feel really good about your improvement. Also, some teachers may seem a little intimidating at first, but once you get past that, it gets a lot better.” Anna Bachiochi ‘20
  • “Even though life may seem to stink at times, hang on because if it cannot get worse, it can only get better.” Sarah Ling ‘20
  • “Do not procrastinate at all; make sure manage your time. Don’t leave post labs off until the last minute. If you don’t understand something definitely set up a time to meet with your teacher.” (Anonymous)

For Ninth Graders Welcome to your first year of high school.  Follow the advice of 9th grade survivors for a smooth start to upper school.

  • “Do your homework and enjoy each day as it comes.” Emily Bowman ‘19
  • “Try to get assignments done ahead of time, and don’t wait to study for a test the night before. Take good notes and pay attention in class. Do not procrastinate!! Studying with other people helps too, as long as you stay focused and on-task.” (Anonymous)
  • “Always go for help in a class that you are struggling with. If you have a teacher whose teaching style you don’t really understand, or a class that isn’t your favorite, go to that teacher or talk to your advisor. Also, participate in class! It helps your grade.” (Anonymous)
  • “I cannot stress enough how important managing your time is, as sleep is extremely important for doing well on assessments. Also, review every night what you learned that day, even if only for five minutes. And as soon as an assessment is assigned, start reviewing 20 minutes each night leading up to it, therefore you won’t be crunching for time and you will actually understand the material.” Maddie Marcucci ‘19
  • “Study hard. If you did not have to study all too much in middle school, you will now. Start to break that bad habit of not studying.” (Anonymous)
  • “Have fun and enjoy all the precious moments in 9th grade. Don’t worry if there’s drama or kinks in your groups.” Giulia Rozzo ‘19

For Tenth Graders Okay, freshman year is over.  It can only improve from here, right?  I guess you’ll find out for yourself, but the sophomores are here to help with any potential bumps along the way.

  • “Stay positive even when the work gets hard or it gets to be too much. You CAN do it, and you don’t need to waste time freaking out. Confide in your friends and teachers to get you through the harder times. Above all else enjoy it.  As sophomores you’re no longer the babies. So like I said, maintain a lot of joy, and don’t panic when life gets hard.” Olivia Hastie ‘18
  • “For the freshmen going into sophomore year, I would stress time management. Put your phone, Netflix, and other distractions away from you if you want to get all your work done and put in the amount of time needed to get good grades on assessments. Especially if you want to take Honors/AP classes, knowing how to manage your time is extremely important. All that being said, take breaks when you’re working, too; you don’t want to fry your brain and be constantly stressed out.” Alex Rider ‘18
  • “Keep in mind it is easier to start the year out with good grades and maintain them rather than start out poorly and try to raise them as the year goes on.” Kiran Kottapalli ‘18
  • “Don’t stress out about little things. All you need to do is be prepared; freaking out will get you nowhere.” Jocelyn Kelly ‘18
  • “You will get a LOT of papers in Chemistry.  I recommend keeping two binders: one 2-inch at home and one 1 ½- inch at school, so that the school binder doesn’t get too large but you still have all your papers at home, organized for the final.”  Gabby Landry ‘18

For Eleventh Graders Junior year has arrived, and you’ve heard that it’s the hardest year of high school.  Get through the year with a smile using these tips:

  • “Turn off your phone and then do homework. It saves so much time and prevents so much distraction.” Nathalie Falcao ‘17
  • “Set a bedtime and stick to it. If you’re tired, you can’t perform well in anything, so finishing that assignment until 2 am will end up throwing you off for the rest of the week. Then the rest of your grades, notes, other homework assignments begin to fall apart. Also being tired is as emotionally straining as it is physically. So do your report card and your health a favor and get some sleep.” Mary Glynn ‘17

For Seniors Your final year at Montrose has arrived! Use the tips of these current seniors to go out with a bang.

  • “GET AHEAD and stay on top of the capstone schedule. You will feel so much more relieved in the end.  Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help.” Kate Wahle ‘16
  • “I advise rising seniors to make the most of their last year at Montrose. Work hard, laugh hard, pray hard, play hard. Get involved in something new. Grow closer to your classmates. Never take a moment for granted, because it goes by way too fast.” Clara Cahill Farella ‘16
  • “My best advice for the incoming seniors would be this. Senior year is difficult, but it is manageable. Always remember to 1. work hard, 2. be the best friend that you can be 3. never be afraid to try something new.” Margaret Sparicio ‘17
  • “Make time for yourself outside of school. It’s easy to get sucked into the academics and stress, so make sure that you always designate a little “me-time” each day that doesn’t involve screens, whether reading before bed or jamming out to music in the car.“ MaryGrace King ‘16

Follow the great advice of current students to make this year the best it can be!