Thoughts on the New Semester

By Abby Velasquez

Since coming back from winter break, Redwood High School has started the new spring semester. It is a new beginning, but the question arises on whether or not the new semester will be better or worse than the last one. The second semester at Redwood begins mid-January and goes until June when school is let out for summer.

The second semester is either a curse or a blessing for a few students, as starting fresh can lead to improvement or deterioration.

Some opinions on this were provided by Ms. Howell, a freshmen English teacher. She believes the first semester is always a big adventure. “Because I teach freshmen, it’s kind of fun to get students used to the school and district, and the second semester is usually when things get easier.” This oncoming second semester is going to be marked by a lot of work and expectations.

When it comes to expectations, Ms. Howell hopes to see more growth in everything. “Our second semester is where I see the most improvement as far as the academic work goes.” The club days on campus, including her water polo training with some students, is what makes her keep students engaged at school.

On another page, the new semester will require focus and thoughtfulness from others. Mr. Hawthorne teaches to almost any type of student, from freshman to senior. He is excited about this new semester especially because “I’m expecting to get a little bit better with changing things to keep students engaged in learning.”

In his own vision, to deepen student learning is called “Depth of knowledge and [understanding] of our summaries after covering a particular lesson is an example of how to deepen our learning.”

So many positive outlooks were given, and hopefully, this semester will be a breeze if you follow these anticipations from teachers. Remember there’s still time to enhance your life when it comes to a set of academic values.