General Discussion

Recent college graduate here, so my adivce is more about creating good habits that'll help later in high school and into college.

If you can, find alternate routes to your classes. My high school had one main hallway that everyone would crowd into to get to their next class and we only had five minutes to do so. See if you can find a map of your school and plot out a course that will hopefully let you avoid the problem areas.

Don't be afraid to ask for help, many teachers would be willing to help you and often encourage you to go to them if you have questions. Get into the habit early because thet'll help you later on.

I can't stress this one enough, put effort into your essays and pay attention to feed back. Learning how to write essays early will save you a lot of stress later, not only on standardized tests but in college. My major was built around writing essays, I'd have three or four every semester. Even though no one likes to write essays, I can not thank my high school english teachers enough for the practice they gave me.

Me again! Just remembered some other little helpful things from my Freshman year!

-Keep your distance from the Senior class, atleast for that year. In my experience, some of the senior class tends to pick on and tease the underclassmen, mainly freshmen, cause they're the younger newbies. If you don't wanna be dealing with that stuff, keep your distance. They'll be gone at the end of the year anyway!
Also a rule of thumb from my school: Never date seniors if you're a freshmen! Not only will they be gone afterwards and you'll likely rarely ever see them again, but chances are they're just using you for some last minute "action" before they have to go. A bit messed up, but something good to keep in mind!
(I don't know if there was some incident or not, but everyone in my district always tells this to the Freshmen classes)

-Clubs/Programs are not mandatory, and can sometimes negatively affect you! Many tend to have their meetings after school, which can sometimes last well into the evening. These will leave you pretty wiped out afterwards (especially if you had a particularly tiring school day), and can even take away time needed to work on homework assignments or just relax and rest up for the next day, which becomes more and more valuable as you go into higher grades. If you feel like you just don't have the energy to keep up with club anymore, and/or its taking time away from more important things, its okay to leave and take a break from it for awhile. Just as long as you let the club officials know whats up, they'll be cool with it!
Also i've found that ones started and ran by students tend to be a bit more disorganized and drama-prone. I get that they're also students who have schoolwork and other stuff to deal with, but its gets to be a bit frustrating for everyone else after so long
(Large reason why a lot of members, including me, stopped going to our Anime Club. Our last president was just so disorganized that he kept losing a lot of dates/paperwork for important club events. The vice-pres and book-keeper pretty much had to take over cause he was just doing such an awful job)

manage time

if there's any one thing I could say, it would be manage time, do work early, take breaks when you need to, and most of all, avoid staying up late.
It'll kill your concentration the next morning, so try not to.

typing this at 6am oh well

Also, prioritize things you need to get done right away and focus on them.

Advice from a current high school teacher (starting year 17!):

Don't be afraid to fail. Seriously. Try things, stretch yourself, and if you mess up? It's high school. You can take a class over. You can do summer school. Challenge yourself, but don't get in too far over your head.

Absolutely get to know your teachers. We like getting to know our students! Establishing a good relationship with your teachers, whether it's through class participation, a shared interest, or asking for help, is a good thing. Find at least one adult in the building you can trust and go to when things get rough and you need a safe space. I've let students eat lunch in my room before, come by in the morning before classes start, sat with them while they waited for rides, etc.

Ask for help when you need it. Seriously. If you have a question about the material in a class, I can practically guarantee that at least 3 other people have the same question, and are too timid to raise their hand or call it out. Be the bold one and ask. We don't know you need help unless you tell us, or until the grades on the quiz/test/project come in and we see what you did and did not absorb.

Take note of any individual teacher's policies and take advantage of them if they apply to you. I let my students retake one quiz every marking period, no questions asked, and the higher grade counts in the gradebook. There are students who would benefit from a bit of review and taking the quiz over again, and yet they don't sign up for a redo.

Know what kinds of things make you uncomfortable. Pep rallies too loud? There's usually a teacher or staff member who keeps their room open to students who really don't want to be there. It's an open secret in my school, but it's not known by many. If I know of a student who doesn't want to go or can't go for whatever reason, I tell the librarians, and send that student with a pass, or make sure our route goes by the library so they can just break off from the group casually.

Clubs and sports aren't vital, but they can be fun! If something looks interesting, check it out! I sponsor my school's Anime Club, and we end up with a ton of freshmen, and then, as time passes and students become acclimated and figure out other interests, sometimes they drift away. But they had a starting point, and a place they could just come and hang out with other students - no pressure, no bullying.

Sleep! Please, please get a decent night's sleep. Your body will thank you for it. I see so many students who are dead on their feet from lack of sleep for various reasons. Grab a nap when you get home, or on the bus, or whatever, and don't stay up too late, if you can help it. Sadly, so many high schools aren't scheduled around student sleep schedules, so you're up way too early and it can be evil. All nighters are awful and take a huge toll on a body.

Be kind to the office staff. The school secretaries can be super helpful to you if they like you. The attendance office, the guidance office, main office - being friendly to the staff is a must (this was true for me in high school, and it's true now for me as a teacher).

Prioritize. You may not have time to get everything done you've been assigned. Figure out what class assignments are worth the most, and spend the time to do them well. An essay worth 20% of the marking period is way more important than getting 100% on a homework assignment that will account for a fraction of the 10% homework counts toward your grade. Make sure you read the papers your teachers give you at the beginning of the year, so you can see the grade breakdown and way that teachers determine your grade. In my district, we're required to make that information public. Ideally, you should be able to find it on your class's website, too (whether it's in Google Classroom, Blackboard, Moodle, etc), but don't be afraid to ask for a paper copy.

It's going to sound trite, and it's not easy, but don't stress. No matter what your teachers tell you, high school is not the be-all/end-all, not "the best years of your life", or "the last hurrah before college or work". At least, it doesn't have to be. You do you, and if you aren't happy with something, you can work to fix it. Classes can be retaken. GED programs exist. Community college can make your need for a high school transcript disappear when applying to a 4-year school. You don't have to know what you want to do yet, and you can try and change your mind and mess up and succeed and everything on your own. High school is a place where failing is safe (no matter what admins or teachers might say to the contrary). If it's public school, they're not going to kick you out because you failed a class or two. And once you graduate and move on to the next phase, no one is going to care about your GPA. They're going to care about what you know, what skills you've acquired, and how you can apply them. Be open to new experiences and new classes, and do your personal best (which does not mean get all As - my personal best in Algebra II was a low C, and I worked my rear off to earn that grade).

I'll close with one of my favorite quotes for anyone starting on a new journey/endeavor: "I wish you success."

@sddalek Thank you so much! It’s awesome to get advice from a teacher’s perspective!

Don't procrastinate. I honestly am so bad at this. I put off work and end up regretting it later.

Be nice to fellow students and teachers. I've made some enemies by accident because I came off the wrong way - just grin and bear it. And don't tick off your teachers. I slacked in English, so my teacher disliked me and wasn't as lenient as he was with other students.

Don't do drugs. For real. I was friends with a couple people from a rough crowd and almost got into heaps of trouble when said "friends" back-stabbed me and tried to frame me. Don't do dumb things that could ruin your future when you're so young.

@LadyLunarFang

there's five pages of responses who've probably already said everything I'm about to say, but oh well..

-high school itself sounds scary but it's not. it's really not. ?verything will seem new and weird and scary for like the first week, but then everybody will be used to it and it'll just be boring old school.

-do your homework. please do it and do it at least the day you get it. You'll get more homework and your teachers will be much less willing to give you extensions, and late homework will impact your grade more. Keep organized planners and hws folders so you don't forget or lose anything.

- if you have any kind of mental issue or learning problem, get assistance for it. ask your parents or teachers what kind of help is available. Don't make the mistake of thinking "i don't deserve special help, i'm not 'severe' enough". I made that mistake my freshman year and I did super bad, because high school requires much more focus and organization than middle school and it overwhelmed me. so for sophomore year i'm getting a 504 plan to help me get my stuff together.

-if you want to have fun and make friends, join clubs!!!! that's the 100% best way to make friends. you get together on a regular basis and bond over a common interest. If you don't know where to go, I recommend the drama club or school plays. theatre kids are super outgoing and welcoming and fun, and even if you're uncomfortable onstage you can still do backstage tech, which is a lot of behind-the-scenes fun. BUT, you don't have to do clubs and activities. If your schedule is too busy, if it would be overwhelming, or if you're just not interested, don't feel pressured.

-a sophomore

Alternatively, if you don't want to avoid everyone and hide there will be groups of people that are very accepting to new friends. Yes, there will be judgemental people but the better option is finding a group of friends you feel comfortable with. Just make the first moves and ask if you can hang out. Doing groups is a good way to make friendships but don't force yourself.

Also, do homework as soon as you get it. I spent so much of high school doing homework in the car on the way to school which you can't pull off if it's like an essay.