Second semester at Arrowhead began on Tuesday, January 25th. New semesters come with changes for students. Changing teachers, classmates, and classes are all a part of the experience. For most students, core classes remain the same. Classes like math, science, social studies and english are frequently two semester classes. Elective classes like art, business, and health are only one semester classes that change at the semester. 

Sophomore’s  Ava Oleniczak and Maggie Flynn say the second semester is going well. Oleniczak says, “It’s nice to be in a new environment surrounded by new people.”

South Campus Math teacher Alica Obermann says, “It can be a challenge to adapt to a new group of students…You know kids will learn, but it’s figuring out how the class operates together. There’s a transition period where students and teachers are figuring each other out. As long as both the students and teachers are welcoming to a new environment, it’ll work out.”

By the time the semesters change, students can be set in a routine so semester changes can put stress and anxiety on students. 

Oleniczak says, “I personally like having a specific routine and when the semester changes. I get stressed about my new classes, and classmates.” 

Semester changes can be stressful for teachers as well.

South Campus English teacher, Andrew Johnsons says, “There are both positive and negative aspects to starting a second semester with a mix of new and old students.” 

He states the positives being: “a “talkative” class in the first semester might change because certain friends might be moved to a different class or hour,” 

and Johnson states the negatives as: “It takes a while to build rapport with students in order to understand how to best help them in their learning process.”