Advice for Freshmen:

“Get some art in your life. It’s a really valid escape from all the crazy sciences and math classes that everyone takes,” senior George Stein said.

“Find a sport to play. It helps you build friends, connections and it’s just a great way to spend time,” senior Quincy Scherman said. 

“Mr. Hartford [is a good adult to befriend] for sure. He’s always super sweet, always looking out for you,” senior Hailey Marshburn said.

“Stop thinking about what other people are going to think [on spirit days]. Who cares if you look dumb? It’s the one day a year where no one cares and everyone looks stupid. It’s more about bonding with your grade or your school, like representing your school colors and supporting your class. Go all out,” senior Hailey Marshburn said.

“Go to the Basketball games, they always have such great energy and our teams are usually really good,” junior Julinana DeYoung

“Volleyball is really interesting to watch. And it’s indoors so [the sound] carries like when we had our homecoming volleyball game last year, that was amazing,” senior Hailey Marshburn said.

Advice for Sophomores:

“Take Honors Physics. Because [Honors Physics] and regular are [pretty much] the same. I feel like they’re so close to each other. It’s an honors class, it looks good on your resume and your college apps, just take it,” senior Quincy Scherman said. 

“Periodic table” Isabella Wire

“Don’t be afraid to ask him questions in Academy, but in class, don’t,” senior Vale Prieto Black said. 

“If I don’t know that you don’t know, then I can’t help you, “ Honors Chemistry teacher Mr. Savage said.

“You should definitely take both the Pre-ACT and [Pre-]SAT. It is good to gauge where you are with these tests. For me I found that the Pre-ACT was more similar to the ACT than the Pre-SAT to the SAT,” junior Lewis Seiden said. 

“Ms. Foster is honestly my rock. She’s super sweet, really cares about you, and you can come to her. She understands how it is because she became a teacher because she had a horrible teacher and she wanted to be the change so she understands when you have issues and she’s very flexible,” senior Hailey Marshburn said.

Advice for Juniors:

“If you are taking the ACT or SAT, take it as many times as possible so you have time to get your highest score,” senior Alexis Castro said.

“Ms. Chamberlain posts all of her notes on Schoology, so I just copied them down,” senior Derek Schleuning said.

“For Honors English make sure you participate in class and create a good relationship with [Ms. Black], and be very communicative with her if you want to do well in the class,” senior Lily Caldwell said.

“I fully think you shouldn’t take [the ACT or SAT] unless there are certain schools [you want to apply to] that aren’t test optional. [Not taking it] saved me from being so stressed out for no reason,” senior Hailey Marshburn said. 

“I like TA periods. It forces me to actually do my homework,” senior Derek Schleuning said.

Advice for Seniors    

“Don’t feed into the negative college culture by talking about it every conversation and stressing out about it,” said Columbia University freshman and PHS graduate Jasper Kra-Caskey.

“The best thing I did to make the college essay writing process easier was keeping an ongoing list of things I’m passionate about, fun and/or reflective stories, and other random ideas,” said UC Berkeley freshman and PHS graduate Rahimeen Shah.

“You don’t have to tell people where you’re going to school. People are going to ask and just say you’re still deciding because you have until May 1. Shut down the conversation,” said Lehigh University freshman and PHS graduate Sofia Johnson.