SENIORS graduate, new freshman come in, each grade level advances forward, and it’s a wonderful start to the new school year. Since it’s a new school year, no one wants to start it off rough.

The majority of the teenagers attending Granger High School post pictures of their schedules to see who has classes with them so they won’t be lonely during school. However, advice from the students that attended Granger the previous school year think that the others should be cautious of making friends in high school.

“If you have only one or two friends, that’s OK. It’s better than having multiple friends, because you know those one or two friends are going to be there. They aren’t going to end up being fake to you,” Natalie Topete (11) said.

It’s important to choose good friends in high school. Stressing about passing classes, earning all the credits, and doing extracurricular activities is enough pressure on one person. Trying to find friends that’ll help throughout high school is very important, but it’s not something that should keep one distracted because high school is very important for the future.

“The friends you have now won’t be there at the end of the year—well, maybe two or three,” Branden  Alvarado (10) said.

Having friends makes high school a lot easier because then there’s not the worrying about who to sit with at lunch and they could even help with hard things like math homework. Whatever it is, friends are somewhat important during high school. More or less, just being cautious will help throughout high school.

“Don’t get involved in anything you wouldn’t want your future kids involved in,” said Alvarado.

However, the most important thing in high school is the education. Some students only go to the classes where they have friends with them. But the majority of the students that go to school every day do the same routine and attend all their classes because they are trying to graduate.

In order to graduate, attendance is very important. One must go to class to get assignments and take tests. If students don’t go to class, their grades will suffer.

“Showing up is very important. All you have to do is show up, be on time, and care. Being late and not showing up becomes a pattern which results in missed assignments. So basically, all you have to do is show up on time. That’s the key to success,” Ms. Warren said.

Both teachers and students notice that attendance is important. Not just because there’s a five-dollar fee for every missed class that’s unexcused, but the easy work just turns into hard work simply because someone didn’t go to class.

“Remember ten minutes late is absent, but still go to class,” said Alvarado.

Attending class is very important, and remember to do the work, too.

“Make sure not to slack on classes. Do your homework. If you slack on homework, you eventually start slacking on the whole class,” Alvarado added.

Try not to be distracted. Repetitive distraction leads to no focus at all, which then leads to not being engaged. If a student isn’t engaged in the topic, then it can be challenging for him or her to complete assignments and take tests.

Using the hall pass other than when necessary is a problem, too.

“Don’t leave class just because you feel like it. You’re missing out on information that will be important on a quiz, test, and maybe even SAGE,” Michelle Castro (10) said.

Most students know what to do to succeed, so it’s just a matter of doing it. Attend. Focus. Study. Repeat.