The students that volunteer their time and knowledge on Reach a Student are eligible to receive community service hours. We are looking to expand our roster of academic and athletic mentors, interviewers, and video editors to help inspire and answer school-related questions. Join Us!
What Is Reach a Student?
Reach a Student is a website established to give students direct communication access to student mentors in various grade levels. Students will be able to reach out to other students and ask any questions they have regarding student and campus life. The site will also stream videos of students sharing their experiences at Windermere Prep as well as activities around campus. Find Out More
If I had the chance to go
back to middle school and high school there would be some things I would do
differently. Although I am a teacher- and teachers love learning- we all didn't
start off perfectly and I am certainly one of those. Here are some pieces of
advice that I think will help you capitalize on your chances of making the most
of your education and the time and resources in front of you all.
Don't be afraid to ask questions/make
mistakes. Nervous that the teacher will think you are weird
for asking a question? Afraid of taking a more difficult class because you
might not get an A? Shy because of what you are going to look like in front of
your secret crush? Your education is yours and you have every right to ask
questions, challenge yourself and make mistakes; whoever makes fun of you for
this or criticizes you is not on the true path to learning.
Read!Read as much as you can about whatever topic you are interested in. I know you
have heard this before but the truth is that so much of our productive time is
wasted on doing unproductive tasks. Instead of reading a magazine, a book for
school/pleasure, or researching world events, we watch TV, surf the Internet
for meaningless things or worry about superficial nonsense. Get off of Facebook,
don't worry who is dating who, don't worry about whatever reality TV show's
next episode may bring, or if someone has a nicer car than you. All of that
time can instead be used for discovering something new and bettering yourself.
So get out there and read!
Push yourself to read outside of your interests. If you love
science, try reading something about art. If you love theater, try reading
something about history. You never know just what you might stumble upon and
how it can benefit and change you. I believe we should all strive to be
comprehensive learners and learn many topics from the whole gamut.
Gain discipline Not only should you push yourself to read and to read other topics,
but push yourself to learn and see the value of other subjects. Don't think
that just because something is boring, or not 'your thing' that you can't learn
from it. Be open and give it a chance. This requires discipline and patience.
Too often I see students who lose interest, motivation and respect for a topic
because it does not offer instant gratification like an IPAD or a play station
would. Learning can be fun but its not all entertainment. And yes let me point
that out…you are not in school to be
entertained. Learning requires
discipline to be able to appreciate these moments of diversion.
Think of the bigger world. You
must start to realize that the more you learn about the bubble outside of
yourself, your school, your neighborhood, your state, your country, and even
the earth, the more you will discover your own place and purpose. There are
people just like you in other parts of the world…learn about them! This world
and universe is a neat place so take interest in it all.
Hi
my name is Bella and I am an 8th grade student at Windermere Prep. One
of my greatest passions in life is dance. I find myself dancing almost
everywhere I go. It is something that I could not live without. Each week I
dance for about 10+ hours. I also attend certain dance competitions every few
months, which means a lot of extra rehearsals. Sometimes I find it a little
tricky to maintain a 4.0 GPA as well as attend all of my dance classes and
rehearsals. However I seem to always find a way to make it work.
One
tip I would give others who are struggling to juggle all of their extra
curricular activities along with school is to stay organized. I would suggest
keeping a planner to write all of your assignments down on. As well as keeping
a few folders to organize any papers you receive from teachers. This way you do
not lose any time due to searching for a lost paper or assignment. Another tip
would be to get lots of sleep and eat healthy as well. Being tired or getting
sick would only lead to more schoolwork piling up, which will make it much
harder to balance school and your extracurricular activities.
My
last tip is to get some of your schoolwork done over the weekend. If you wait
until the week everything is due it will be extremely hard to complete everything
on time and attend your extracurricular activities. Even spending an hour on
your work over the weekend can make a huge difference. I know that all of these
tips have definitely made it a lot easier for me to keep up with my schoolwork
as well as dance, which is very important to me.
I
truly do not know what I would do without dance. It has provided me with so
many great opportunities that I am so thankful for. Through dance I can express
myself and teach others. I have even gotten to work with an incredible
nonprofit organization known as Dance Out
Bullying and got to educate others about bullying through dance. I hope to one-day
dance on Broadway as well as eventually own my own dance studio and teach
others. I hope to have a positive impact on someone's life through dance. I also
hope that all of my tips will help you maintain your busy schedule and allow
you to follow your dreams and achieve your aspirations
and goals.
