It’s been a little over two months since the class of 2025 has joined the Liberty student body. By now, they’re settling in and getting used to the people at Liberty, classes, and teachers. Class of 2025 is put at a great disadvantage because their past two years of school haven’t been the typical school years. The last “normal” year for the freshman class was in sixth grade, and sixth grade is very different from ninth.

Freshman year is a big part of high school because it is the first out of four years of high school, and the ninth grade is when you start preparing for college and the rest of your life. Though you are still a few years away from college, ninth grade performance typically predicts whether a student will start a career straight out of highschool or if a student will be attending college.

Marianne McGrane, science, shared her thoughts about teaching class of 2025.

“When I first started at West High School, It was the 9th grade that I got hired for and I loved it. I mean, there’s nothing better than freshmen. They come in, and they change so much over that first year.”

The transition from middle school to high school is different for everyone but especially the class of 2025. When Tasha Schepanski, a current freshman at liberty, was asked what she was excited or anxious for in the next four years, she replied in more of a career oriented way.

“[Im looking forward to] searching for possible careers and looking [at different] colleges.”

It can be anxious knowing that everything you do academically can now impact your long term future. Schepanski is currently participating in volleyball, difference makers, and IN SHOC here at Liberty. Though High School can be stressful, it can be a great way to get to know new people, and make new friends, especially for those who are involved in clubs and activities.

Middle school and high school teachers try to make the transition from the two schools as smooth as possible. An important part of a smooth transition is remembering that it should be a process, not an event. Tatum Stille, freshman, shared her thoughts on the transition.

“I think it’s similar [to junior high] in some aspects, it’s less of a change compared to [the] elementary school [transition to junior high just cause we already knew how to go from class to class.”

Anxiety is a normal thing for any ninth grader who is entering high school, however North Central Junior High and Liberty High School do everything in their power to make the transition as smooth as possible as well as easy for new students coming to Liberty.