Sixth Grader Advice: Eighth Graders Share Their Secrets to Success
By Chelan Kostello and Oliver Arett
As incoming 6th graders, we interviewed ten eighth-graders and Ms. Welch for their advice to the new sixth graders in the Science Academy because they have already been through the process of succeeding in the Science Academy.
- Do not procrastinate or panic about school work, even when we are under extreme pressure to finish with an upcoming deadline.
- When you are doing essays, you should try to calm yourself and think clearly before you start writing. You should not have your mind cluttered with extraneous thoughts.
- We should always try to get extra credit whenever it is available. This will give you extra points to get rid of a bad grade and stay at an A. Then we can still get an A, even if we miss a few problems.
- We should follow directions very precisely, participate constantly in class/ask any questions you have, and by doing this, you can understand tough concepts. They also said that we should make sure to keep our textbooks in good condition and to not lose them since we have to return them at the end of the year and they’re expensive!
- Another bit of good advice we received is that we should always get your homework done because it’s easier to keep up than it is to catch up. Participate in class, pay attention, ask questions if you don’t understand, and always write your assignments in your agenda so that you do not forget any.
- We also asked Mrs. Welch for her advice. She said that everyone should regularly check Schoology and that their parents also should. She also said to take advantage of Social Communication to do homework, collaborate, and get help on assignments. During this time you can get lots of homework done, giving you more free time at home. She also said to ask teachers for clarification whenever we do not understand something and to take advantage of lunchtime tutoring in different teacher’s classrooms and from other students in the Science Academy. The last piece of advice she gave us is to always be expanding our circle of friends.
- Take good, clear notes, use our agenda to its fullest, and to not talk to your friends during class or you will miss the information being taught and get bad grades on tests.
- One student advised us to not worry too much about the high expectations and warnings issued by Mr. Lauchu and Ms. Huff, that they really want what’s best for us and they can be understanding if things don’t go the way they should.
- Sixth grade is not very hard if you are a good student. They also said that we should do the outlines yourself so we actually learn the material and figure out what the primary aspects of a subject are.
- We should try to make a lot of friends and not be too hard on yourself if you get a bad grade on a test.
If you follow this advice, you’ll be a long way towards having a successful first year at the Science Academy STEM Magnet!
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