Leading her younger brother, sophomore Valeria Juarez weaves in and out of the crowd at 8th grade Open House on Feb. 4.

Juarez brother Mauricio attends St. Bartholomew Catholic School and plans to go here next year.

“When my brother comes to high school I have lots of advice to give to my brother based on my own personal experiences,” Juarez said.

Juarez recommended to get some required classes out of the way.

“I am encouraging my brother to take both semesters of P.E.,” Juarez said. “As of right now he does not plan on wavering for any sport, so I really encourage that not just for him, but every freshman going into high school to take P.E. their first year.”

Students are required to take PE Team and PE Individual before they graduate. Another option is to waiver if you are in a sport. Juarez knows there is a big size difference in middle school and high school.

“Going in to high school can be very intimidating at first especially since it is a new environment from middle school,” Juarez said.

Being organized was very important for Juarez.

“Organization is key in to high school because the workload in high compared to middle school is pretty different depending on the classes you take,” Juarez said.

Homework load can be different depending on choice of classes.

“Most of the classes that I am pushing him to take do assign homework regularly,” Juarez said.

In addition to staying organized, Juarez thinks staying connected to the school helps, too.

“Get involved with the school as much as possible. Whether it be sports or clubs, joining anything regarding the school is great when you are applying to college,” Juarez said. “But, it is also a way for you to make new friends overall.”

Sophomore Holly linn also attends the open house along with her younger sister Sarah Linn who is currently and 8th grader at Central Middle School

“The biggest advice that I would give my sister who is wanting to attend North next year is to get involved in a school sport. I am currently involved in volleyball and I have made so many friends over the last two years! Volleyball is also something we are both very passionate about so I am pushing her to tryout for the team going into the next school year,” said Linn

“Going into highschool can feel super scary and intimidating, but as long as you do what you are supposed to and try your best that is all that matters,” said Linn.

Overall, regarding what both sophomore Valeria Juarez and Holly Linn said, although high school may seem very stressful, intimidating, and difficult, it isn’t as bad as it seems. As long as you are very organized, stay on task, and get involved with the school as much as you can, you should do just fine.

“I hope that my sisters freshman year isn’t as stressful as it is made out to be and she will make lots of new friends and joins some sort of school activity like I did. Getting closer to the end of this school year I also hope she understands that high school is only four years long and it isn’t the most difficult thing in the world and you make many new friends and many great memories,” said Linn