The Freshmen Begin a New Chapter at DMHS! By: Angelica Zamora-Reyes and Simon Zhang
As the new school year approaches here at Downtown Magnets High School, we are excited to welcome the incoming 9th graders as they enter a new chapter in their life in high school. Throughout the first weeks of school, we decided to interview some of the incoming freshmen. We asked them a few questions about how their experience was here at DMHS during the first weeks of school, and we got to learn about their expectation for their high school experience. Even though there are some struggles, the 9th graders are optimistic and ready to make the most of their high school experience!
Here are some responses about what some of the freshmen said.
The first question was: How was your first week of high school?
“Going from middle school to high school was a big change in the environment because there are other high schoolers and new unfamiliar faces,” said freshman Sophia To.
“Easy, not hard, I feel like it was normal,” said Xóchilt Alicon.
Jamie Martinez says, “The transition from middle school to high school was not that bad. I’m used to a lot of classes”.
“Normal, I didn’t feel any difference, just that it is harder to get to the classes.” - Danielle Valdez “I would say it’s not that hard but it’s probably since I’m still a freshman it’s going to get more difficult over time, so I would say it’s okay.” - Nowshin Nova
The 2nd question was: What new struggles might pop up for you in high school? Who is someone older than you that you can talk to for help?
“A struggle I might find in high school is definitely procrastination because I usually do all my homework last minute. Another thing I may struggle with is the overloading amount of schoolwork and homework I will obtain. Someone older than me that I can talk to for help is Tony and Simon Zhang because they are dependable,” said freshman Devan Huang.
Danielle Valdez says that a struggle that can pop up is “Not being able to do all the work from all the classes”. “One of the struggles is the work, I feel like middle school was easy with the work, and I feel that in high school there will be more work,” says Xóchilt Alicon.
Nowshin Nova responded, “One of the struggles that will pop up for me in high school is the new environment because it’s going to take more time for me to adapt to it”.
The 3rd question asked was: What changed from middle school or caught your attention in our school? “What caught my attention is the graduating requirement and how you have to get a certain amount of credits to graduate. In middle school, you can fail classes and still graduate so I find that amusing,” said freshman Billy Kuang.
“What changed is definitely the atmosphere, there’s a lot of people here and not a bunch of people know who you are, so you can change and develop from who you are from middle school and be a better person,” said freshman Diego Sosa.
“There’s no dress code is something that I look forward to,” said Jamie Martinez. Xóchilt Alicon responded, “What changed was the diversity, there’s more kids that are from different cultures, and at my other school there was pure Hispanics”.
Our final question was: What middle school did you come from, and why did you choose to come to DMHS? Here are some answers that the freshman said!
“I came from Thomas Starr King Middle School. I chose to attend DMHS because most of my friends are here and also it’s a really good school academically,” said Freshman Patrick Lei.
Jamie Martinez went to Nightingale Middle School. When asked why Jamie chose to come to this school she responded, “My sister came here, and there’s the business program which is the one I am in”.
Nowshin explained, “I came from Virgil Middle School, and I chose to come to Downtown Magnets High School because I heard that the school had the IB program, and the ranking was really good”.
We have gained an insightful understanding of the 9th graders' hopes, and expectations throughout their high school years! It is clear that they are excited about the challenges and opportunities that are waiting for them. Some 9th graders look forward to different academic classes like enrolling in the IB Program, while others look forward to the diversity of people in the school and having no dress code. We would like to thank all the new incoming freshmen for these thoughtful responses, and we hope that your next 3 years of high school will be amazing! Remember to be stellar, Suns!