Starting high school is a huge milestone in a teenager’s life, filled with both fear and excitement to begin again in a new environment. Now, over 200 freshmen have successfully survived their first quarter at Ledyard High School. The Colonel decided to check-in with some of these newbies.

Olivia Strelevitz started off her year by getting elected class of 2019 president “the thing I am most proud of is that I was voted class president. I honestly never thought I would have the courage to even run, let alone win,” she said. As expected of most freshmen, Strelevitz was shocked at the immediate work load. “I am in all level one classes and the amount of work and the skill level is much harder than I imagined,” she said. “I can no longer procrastinate or blow a homework off every once in awhile, but I think I am managing pretty well.” Aside from her rigorous workload, she enjoys her time in chorus class and hopes to know the names of everyone in her large class by the end of the year.

Matthew Thornton shared his first quarter was actually easier than expected, “My biggest fear walking into high school was that it would be a lot harder,” he said. However, when asked what he would change if possible, Thornton would still lower his homework load.

Sara Tomis is not only new to LHS, but to the Ledyard school system. “Since I am from out of town going into the Ag program, I had to make new friends, but the people here are really nice,” Tomis said. She has told of some stereotypical freshman issues, “The majority of my distress was directly related to getting lost. The hallways look very similar and were slightly deceiving,” Tomis said.
Being in the agriscience program, Tomis is a lover of science. “My favorite elective is the ag program, but my favorite required class is biology.” she said. Tomis also tells that her greatest accomplishment so far in the year has been achieving honor role. Overall, she is having a great time attending the Ledyard system, with the exception of the occasional ‘traffic jam’ in the hallways.

Starting high school is a stressful time for new students, but this year’s freshmen have proven their ability to handle this school’s challenges and changes from eighth grade.

Megan Rosen, staff writer

Sophomore Megan Rosen is a staff writer for the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is on the volleyball team.