New Year, New Me: How Students and Staff are Preparing for the 2022-2023 School Year

Welcome to the 2022-2023 school year. For some of us, this is a fresh start, a new beginning. For others, this is our last year of being kids–although if you called us kids, we’d probably correct you. Regardless of if you’re a new freshman, a new Riley student, or you’re just getting back into the swing of things, everyone could use some help adjusting to the new school year. It is for that purpose that I’m here to help with.

If there’s one thing Mr. Henderson always emphasizes, it’s that we here at Riley are a family. As he put it in our interview, “We are a family, and I think with having a family is that there will be ups and downs, but we just always have to bounce back and know that we’re a family, and there's opportunity to grow.” That’s one of the biggest goals for our administrative team. They want to help us students grow, just as your family does.

Take a look at a former RHS student. She refers to Riley High School as her home. “I mean…I graduated from Riley, so I was a student here for four years, and I’ve been teaching here for 17, so it's just I can’t imagine teaching anywhere else.” That former student, and current teacher is Mrs. Leonard, who has stayed a part of the Wildcat Family longer than many.

Mrs. Leonard

Mrs. Leonard isn’t the only staff member to return to Riley. One of our vice principals, Mrs. Anderson, used to teach here. Of course, we also have students returning. So why have they chosen to come to or stay at Riley? Freshman Angelise Taylor is here for the tech and coding classes. “I decided to come to Riley because it mainly just has all the classes that I think that I will need for my future. I really like the idea of coding and engineering and stuff like that.”

What about our seniors, who’ve been here for a while? Senior Abigail Gray said this about Riley, “Honestly, probably if the pandemic didn't happen, [my experience] would be a 10/10.” She reflected on why Riley has been such a good place for her and added, “I just kind of learned how to be in the school community, which is something I didn't really do at Jefferson, my middle school. Everyone just feels a lot more cohesive, there's a lot more school pride, and everyone just seems to genuinely like being [here].” There are plenty of other students who feel the same way.

Mr. Henderson and Mr. Hardman matching for Twin Tuesday during Homecoming Spirit Week

Photo credit: Mr. Hardman

That school pride Abby mentioned is something that Mrs. Leonard enjoys too, especially concerning homecoming. “It's always fun, cause it’s like the same traditions that I had when I was a student, and you know with Mr. Henderson also having been a Riley student, he’s brought back a lot of the traditions that were there when we were here as students, which is kind of fun.” 

Any student who’s been here before knows that Mr. Henderson always goes all out for spirit week. He said it himself: “I’m really excited about Homecoming, because the theme is Disney, so I’m trying to think, what can I do this year that's kinda that “pop-out” thing.”

That’s one of the beautiful things about attending Riley. We get to have a lot of fun here. “High school should be super fun, it shouldn't be hard, it should just be fun to come to school and fun to get to know all the other kids and get to know your teachers, and be involved,” says Mrs. Anderson. In case you’re wondering how you can get involved, Mrs. Anderson has the answer to that too: “Downstairs, in front of the cafeteria, is a bulletin board, and we have taken all of the clubs and printed them out and have put them on the bulletin board. So if students are looking for clubs, look on the bulletin board because there is, I don't know, I want to say like 25 of them.”

The list of clubs available to join by the cafeteria

Although the large number and variety of clubs we have may seem intimidating, that just means you have options to find something that fits what you like. “I feel like everybody has to cater to their own interests and strengths,” said Mrs. Leonard. “We have a lot of options for kids that are sometimes competitive [and] sometimes just for enjoyment, like KGT–knights of the gaming table–where they just get together and play games, which is really fun and it’s just kind of another social outlet for kids.”

There’s more than just clubs. You can also join a sport. “Try to pick one [sport] every season because there's so many sports out there. I personally played volleyball when I was in high school–and softball, so those were my two sports,” suggested Mrs. Anderson. “But there's just so many of them it’s hard to recommend one.”

This bulletin board shows upcoming sports events

But don’t take it just from the teachers. What do students have to say about sports and clubs? “I’m already in restorative justice, or youth leadership,” says Angelise, quoted earlier. “Maybe next year I’m probably gonna join like cheer or band.” As Mrs. Anderson said, choosing one sport for each season, or at least more than one sport is a good idea. Abby puts that into practice, as well as making time for student government. “Swim season starts up soon so that’s fun, and then tennis in the spring.”

Although school should be fun, there is the academic side of things. If you have no clue how to make sure you’re staying on track, our students, teachers and staff are here to help. 

What advice did Mrs. Leonard have? “Stay organized, and ask for help when [you] need it. Teachers are always willing to help. Nobody wants their students to fail, you know?” Mrs. Anderson backs that up. She adds, “ I’ll do whatever I have to do to help our students or scholars here at Riley.”

Mrs. Anderson

Mrs. Anderson also had more advice. “I would recommend to get to class on time. Be good listeners, participate in your learning, ask questions…be respectful you know realize that we are here to help.” Even Mr. Henderson was stressing that: “The goal is just to be a safe environment, not necessarily what I mean by physical but just even by learning. [Students can be] fearful of giving out a wrong answer or making a mistake on an exam.” 

Never be afraid to ask for help with something. Like Mrs. Leonard said, “I only survived college by asking questions all the time and going to my professors office hours and so I think it’s just a good habit for the kids to get into.” She’s absolutely right.

But sometimes it can feel like your teachers aren’t understanding what you need. Angelise has felt that way. “[One teacher] is not very reliable. She doesn’t help, she gives you the work, she goes over it for like 5 minutes in class, but the thing is she moves very very fast, so I think a tip to all teachers would be to move a little slower to make sure that all of your students are comprehending things, don’t move on until everyone gets it.” Coming from a student’s perspective, some teachers just move on and leave you in the dust.

Angelise Taylor

Teachers can also sometimes lose sight of the fact that their students have lives outside of the classroom. “[Students] may have other things going on. They may not have the easiest home life, or they just may have a very busy home life, [which] doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing, but you just have to take that into consideration. ‘Cause a lot of teachers don't,” says Angelise. “In high school, it’s mainly proven that a lot of high school students are the ones who are very mentally ill a lot of times, haven’t figured ‘it’ out, and stuff like that. Like, it’s also just good to be mindful of anyone’s mental health period, because even a lot of the smart students tend to put pressure on themselves, to make sure that they’re doing what they need to do, and then that’s going to ruin their mental health. You don’t want your students to burn out too early in the school year, or burn out at all.”

Now, the title of this story is about preparing for this school year. Do you feel prepared? If you’d say no to that question, one of my interviewees agrees: “No. I don't feel prepared, it's more the unknown,” was Mrs. Anderson’s answer when I asked her that question. “Because I’ve been out of the high school for so long, I feel like I’m learning every single day…But there's so much that is different than when I was teaching high school.” 

If you’re feeling like you’re not prepared, remember that most of us aren’t. Mrs. Leonard said this: “I don't think I’ve ever taught an entire year the same way twice. Everything kind of evolves into its own thing that works for the particular group of students that I have and the skill level that they’re at.” 

It’s our hope here at the Riley Review that all of you have a good year–student, staff or anything in between. Remember that we’re all figuring it out as we go, and that this is a place to be safe, have fun, and learn-both in academics and in life.

Quick Tips For Teachers and Staff:

• Don’t rush your students!

• Always be willing to help students with any problems they may be facing.

• Be understanding!

Quick Tips For Students:

• Get to class on time.

• Get involved with sports and/or clubs.

• Ask for help, whether it be on assignments, or with something else going on in your life.

• Last but not least, enjoy you time here! It’ll be gone before you know it.