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Advice
Welcome issue
Getting yourself into the groove
BY JOHN BORWICK
Now at NCSSM, you are part of a diverse
community of students attempting to “accept
the greater challenge” and yet have a social
life, also known as fun. So here is what you
need to do to get oriented as quickly and effi
ciently as possible.
In your first few days on campus, you
are going to have free time. Yes, despite Con
current Small Group Sessions at all hours of
the day and copious amounts of hall and group
activities, you will be living the good life.
Your mission should be to meet as many
people as possible.
Meet and know your hall. Between check
and lights-out you have lots of time to spend
with your hallmates. Use this time to see how
you might fit in with everyone else on hall.
During the day, go outside and see what the
rest of the junior class is like.
Seniors will then arrive. Spend time with
the senior class. We are already “in the
groove,” even if we don’t want to be. Most of
us will be nice so make sure you speak up. If
your senior sibling approaches you, get to
know them, because he or she can help get
you oriented even better and faster.
Now you will need to know a little about
your roommate, and yourself. For example,
if you and your roommate are heavy sleep-
The guys of 4th West "get into the groove"with their hall last school year.
ers, then you will need to talk about waking
one another up in the morning for class. Try
to get along with your roommate by work
ing out personality conflicts before they get
blown out of proportion.
Understand that we have our own lingo
here. Three-letter acronyms are all over and
everything gets reduced to the minimum num
ber of syllables necessary to communicate the
idea. Ask questions and you will be fine. Don’t
lose your curiosity and nurture your creativ
ity. It is not important to remember everything.
Intelligence will keep you out of
trouble, and wisdom will keep you
happy.
A quick bit of wisdom on
romance, for all those interested.
It is to your best interest to hold
off on serious relationships for
awhile. Someone you think is re
ally masterful in the first few days
of school may turn out very dif
ferent in time.
Class is right around the
comer. Make sure that you have
pencils and pens, spending money
for lab books, a bookbag, a plan
ner to write down your homework,
and someone to talk to. If you are
missing one or more from the
above, talk to your RLA. He or she
will know what to do.
Some people think about
leaving, but please give school at
least a month before seriously con
sidering going back home. Take
time for yourself every day to keep school
from overwhelming you. Do not lose your
self in the classes, because classes are only a
part of what the NCSSM family provides to
its students. Good luck.
BY L. WHITNEY Duff
Maintaining your confidence How to get what you
want & make your
teacher happy, too
Each new junior arriving at NCSSM, this
year and every year before, came from the
top percentile of his class. Most likely he was
one of the students who made straight A’s at
his old high school, but never really had to
work for them. He was the student whom his
peers expected to make the best grades on tests
or papers. He was also probably the student
taking many honors or advanced classes.
Upon arrival at
NCSSM, this junior is
grouped with 550 other
students who all come
from the same back
ground. The school says
that these students are
some of North Carolina’s
“best and brightest.” But,
with so many other stars,
it is sometimes hard to
shine.
Probably the hardest
thing about S&M is maintaining confidence
in yourself. When you arrive, and realize how
talented and bright your fellow classmates are,
you feel humbled. Many students begin to lose
confidence in their own abilities.
It is important to remember why you are
here; the application process selected you out
of hundreds of other candidates. You were
chosen because of your academic record, the
way you challenged yourself at your former
school, and what teachers and other adults said
about you as a student and as a person.
And at NCSSM, just like other schools,
there are plenty of opportunities to excel, in
academics as well as in other areas. For ex
ample, even if you are having a difficult time
in Chemistry, you may be the top student in
your History class. Or you might be on an
academic team, such as Science Olympiad
or the Quiz Bowl team. You may even find
another area to shine. Many NCSSM stu
dents show their talents through art, photog
raphy, drama, dance, writing, varsity sports,
intramural sports,
and music.
The students
who really succeed
at NCSSM, and
those who get the
most out of their two
years here, are the
ones who don’t lose
confidence in them
selves. The students
who push through,
even when their
grades aren’t what they would like them to
be or when they feel overburdened with
work, are the ones who find the many ways
to shine.
It is important to remember that you are
no longer competing with your classmates.
It isn’t about who is in the harder classes, or
who is making the better grades. It is about
pushing yourself, and doing the best you can.
Do not lose faith in yourself. And when ev
erything starts weighing you down, take a
minute to think about how you got here.
The students who
really succeed at
NCSSM... are the
ones who don't lose
confidence in
themselves.
BY TULIE SIKKINK
As a humanities teacher, my goal for stu
dents is to learn a lot and enjoy it, while hav
ing a real life too.
The point of class is to learn, not to sim
ply get the best grade you can. Grades are only
helpful motivators. Don’t be afraid to take on
a bigger challenge just because it is harder if
you know that it will interest you or that you
will learn a lot. Easy A’s are simply valida
tions of mediocrity. Hard won C’s can be
medals of honor, and stepping stones to
greater things.
Figure out whether you’re a procrastina
tor or a perfectionist and then change that.
Learn to get started early and work steadily,
so that you can also take breaks and stop work
ing at a reasonable hour. If you live from cri
sis to crisis, you aren’t doing yourself any
good, and can be creating chaos for everyone
else too.
Abandon old study habits such as never
taking notes because you’ll remember all that
stuff when the test comes or the thought that
tutorials, exam review sessions and meetings
with teachers and guidance counselors are just
for “dumb kids,” not you. Don’t expect teach
ers to explain everything to you. Start study
ing more than 10 hours before that 8 a.m. test.
Be careful when you take notes out of books
so you don’t plagiarize.
Your state of mind has a big impact on
how “hard” or “boring” or “stressful” the
work feels. Rearrange how you work so that
you don’t overload yourself with a task you
don’t like. If nothing works, though, please
get help and don’t suffer alone. YOU are why
we have people like SLI’s, counselors, nurses-
so make use of the human resources provided
for your needs.
Participate in class. You learn more, have
more fun, are less likely to get called on, and
it looks good to teachers! If you get shy in
discussions, come prepared with a question
to ask. If you didn’t do the work, admit it fast,
and then get busy contributing whatever you
still can.
Also, realize that if teachers were really
sadists, we could find much better paying em
ployment elsewhere! Try to see the value in
the “boring” or “painfully hard” projects we
assign. If you think a certain assignment is
really unfair then come tell us. We might agree
with you when we see your point of view or
you might come to appreciate our perspec
tive. Feel free to email when you cannot oth
erwise reach us. Communication can only
help.