Freshmen settle into their new home, Mira Costa

By Emily Koncki
Staff Writer

642 Freshmen stepped onto Mira Costa’s campus this fall with little knowledge of what to expect of their high school years. Students filter in from middle schools all over the South Bay, and even farther, to attend the high school ranked seventy-fourth in California.

These ninth graders’ years of elementary and middle schooling have prepared them to learn in the sophisticated way they are expected to in high school.  According to freshmen like Jaclyn Kingsley, however, what their expectations for high school may have been before the first day of classes was likely very different than the reality they faced on the first day of school on the 26th of August.

“My first impression of Costa was it was a place that seemed like most kids truly wanted to be there,” Kingsley said. “It stood out to me that everyone had their “thing” on the campus and everyone fit in somewhere.”

Whether it was about the large group of new students they were going to meet, or the opportunities they will have, the warm and welcoming first week of school had students thinking more positively about the years to come.

“I think high school will be a really positive experience for me,” Kingsley said. “I am really looking forward to everything from finding out what classes I like or don’t like, meeting new people, and just getting to be involved with all the other activities Mira Costa has to offer.”

Even though the transition into high school has been mostly positive, students have still had to get used to their new routine. Freshmen, like Jade Siegel, have recognized many differences between their middle school and high school experiences so far.

“The biggest difference between middle school and high school is how big the school is,” Siegel said. “I went to Hermosa Valley Middle School, which is very small compared to Mira Costa and it is a huge change for my friends and me.”

Different students like freshman, Sydney Garmoe, had different opinions on what was the biggest change from middle school to high school. Although the size difference was a popular topic, others included the amount of homework, the expectations in the classroom, and the variation of ages in classes.

“The biggest difference in high school to me is the size of the school and having kids up to 3 years older than me in my electives and classes,” freshmen, Sydney Garmoe said.

However despite all these differences, being prepared for something like high school is almost mandatory when attending a school with as rigorous a program as Mira Costa’s. When asked if they felt that they were well prepared for Costa, freshmen like Olivia Van Norman said the following about how her middle school helped her.

“I’m glad that they increased the load of school work each year in middle school because I find that it’s helped me balance my work so far in high school,” freshmen, Olivia Van Norman said. “I have a significantly larger amount of homework now but I know how to handle it which is the important part.”

According to eighth graders at Hermosa Valley, like Sheridan McKnight, the cycle of preconceptions continue with current eighth graders.  Many are focused mainly on how large the school is and the opportunities they will get at Costa and they are looking forward to it with a very positive attitude.

“I’m really looking forward to the range of options I will have at Mira Costa and the possibilities for different elective courses,” McKnight, eighth grader attending Hermosa Valley Middle School, said. “I’m also really looking forward to meeting new people and widening my friend group.”

A perk of high school for some freshmen like Kingsley is meeting new people that they wouldn’t have met at their middle schools. The large population at Costa has created distance between old friends, but has made it possible for people to branch out to new people.

“I have met many new people and made friends that I wouldn’t have met in middle school,” Kingsley said. “Coming from Hermosa Valley and now going to school with so many other new faces has allowed me to do this.”

Mira Costa is a place where freshmen get to explore all these new opportunities and freedom, and freshmen, like Siegel, are extremely optimistic about the years to come.

“High school is going to be a great experience because I get to go through it with my friends that I came with from my old school, and the new ones I have met here at Mira costa,” Siegel said. “I’m really looking forward to my years at Mira Costa.”