August 20th, 2025 marks the beginning of the Tuscarora ‘25-’26 school year. This means many new faces to see as well as old ones to greet alongside them. This brings out the opportunity to make more friends and set a steady pace for yourself to work with throughout the year. Nevertheless, with this also comes the challenge of adapting to a new routine and schedule causing people to feel nervous and doubt themselves or their upcoming performances. But what do we actually know about the Back-To-School season? How do students really feel about the changing of policies, as well as adjusting their routines and essentially “starting over”?
Time works differently for most students over the summer. Whether that’s a seasonal job, renewing a hobby, vacation, or even staying up all night to play video games with friends. When asked about readjusting themselves to a new routine, this is what some students had to say:
An anonymous 11th grader stated that, “It doesn’t really matter to me, but the adjustment for other students could be difficult.” To support this statement, 11th grade student Rachel Peers expresses, “It’s jarring to go from waking up at ten in the morning to having to get up at six.”
However, time isn’t the only thing that most students here at Tuscarora are passionate about. Staff and parents often communicate and rationalize over the summer on what they believe will be best for their students and children in order to thrive best in a learning environment. This causes the changing of some policies and regulations that most students have strong opinions on: A junior here at Tuscarora claims “Smart pass seems better due to more security measures taken. However, phones are not a good policy. If a family emergency occurs and no contact is given to the student, that’s a very bad set.” With a clash of opinions, Marcus Camerson presumes “Smart-pass is not an effective method for people to use the bathroom because no one fixes the long lines.” This insinuates that staff should focus more on efficiency rather than supervision.
With all well set policies and strict expectations, the staff here at Tuscarora will still attempt to give students a say or choice in what their path may be. When asked what their thoughts are on their personal schedules, their responses varied in emotions: A junior by the name of Paul Ray says, “ I got taken out of my forensics class and forced into a business class that I didn’t want to be in. I also signed up for strength training but they put me in American pop music.” While on the flip side, J. E. also a junior states, “It’s pretty good since I have gotten all my electives I wanted.”
Regardless of the ups and downs that come with the Back-To-School season, students should always be prepared to do their best on whatever obstacles they may approach, and to not let the little things affect the year waiting before them. Besides seeing things from different angles, and spotting new possibilities, they should always keep in mind that exciting opportunities lay ahead. Finally yet importantly, to have an amazing 2025-2026 school year.
