What’s the best way to stay organized? School gives us a planner (well, we pay for it, but we get one) but nobody ever really teaches us how to use it. I write my assignments and homework in it, but I somehow still wind up finding it easy to miss an assignment or a test. I even have a little calendar on my phone too. There are calendars on my computer at home, and there is Google Calendar too. Even with all the calendars around I can sometimes find it tough to stay on top of school work, and I end up working all weekend on a project.

Lately I have started digging into projects right away instead of waiting. I find that this way, the project stays on my mind, and I can work away at it over a week or two. I can polish it and improve on it as I go, and I have more time and don’t worry about missing any deadlines. The same goes for studying. If I review my notes each day for even a few minutes I don’t have as much trouble reviewing when it’s time for a test. And, I don’t need to rely on my agenda to remind me.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

In class, I often have a tough time figuring out how much of what the teacher is saying I should be writing down.

Some of my classmates write almost every word the teacher says, and some don’t write much at all.

When it’s time to study I find it hard to read pages and pages of notes, so I have started to try to write down less.  I try to focus on only writing down the key points. Then, if there are any examples, or other info that are relevant or important to the key points, I write one or two words as well.

When it’s time to review for a test, I find the rest of the stuff is pretty easy to remember and I can focus on the key points.  If I am not sure about key points from a class, I make sure I ask the teacher before I leave.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

There was an article the other day about how video games are actually good for your brain. They make it work better, improve hand-eye coordination, and help you make decisions. Take that, Dad!

I know that this doesn’t mean that sitting in front of the TV or computer for six hours a day is good, but a little gaming every day is okay. I like playing video games because they are relaxing, and challenging. I can that tell my brain is working. I like solving the puzzles, and learning new stuff, and video games help with that. I also really, really enjoy killing zombies, and where else can I do that but on my PS3?

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

That’s the question that we always ask, right? So much of the “stuff” that I learn in school makes no sense to me, and nobody seems to be able to answer my question about why its important, and when I will need this information. So, what’s the point of learning it if I don’t need it later? I mean, we have the ability to find pretty much any answer that we need in a couple of seconds courtesy of Google, a fact that seems to make the stuff we are learning silly. BUT, my real question is, why can’t anyone answer the question properly? Or, does what we are being taught need to change so we have an answer to the question? What are we learning in school, really? Is it important “stuff,” or is it simply how to follow instructions?

I think it might be more about the instruction than the stuff.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

It’s tough being in high school, trying to get good marks, have a social life, help out around the house, and still have personal time. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t time to get things done. I try to stay on top of everything, but there are only so many hours in the day.

I’d like to stay up late to work on personal stuff, but I have to get up before 7 for school, so then I am tired. And then I read that teenagers need a lot of sleep.

This makes me wonder why we start school so early? It’s nice to be done before 3, but I think that it might be better to start a bit later in the morning. I see so many sleepy kids in my classes. and wonder how much we really are learning. I’d like to see school start around 9, maybe even later. Then I’d get to sleep in a bit and stay up a bit later too. The studies say I am right, so what are we waiting for?

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

Although everybody makes mistakes, there are some that can affect our future. As a teen, I make a handful of mistakes every day. I understand that this may seem cliché, but I try to always think through what I’m about to do before I act.

It’s important to think about how any decision may affect you in the future, near or far. Before you think about cutting class, however unnecessary the class may seem, think about how skipping one class can easily become a habit, and what the results might be. Maybe it’s losing a credit or even dropping out, leaving you with nothing. Just ditching a single class could dramatically alter your future, whatever it may be. Next time you are about to cut class, or just not study for a quiz, think about how this situation right now could end up hurting you later on.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

In high school, you’re pretty much your own person. Which is a good thing, but this new freedom comes many more responsibilities. One of them happens to be getting help.

When it comes to having troubles in school, there are some instances where your parents can help. But in cases when your parents or peers can’t offer support or guidance, it isn’t the end of the road. You’re not on your own.

Schools always have support systems, such as help groups, and it is very important that you take advantage of them!

But recognizing that you need help and doing something about it is up to you. Nobody is going to do this for you. You have to be the one to ask for help. This is a big responsibility.

In most cases, extra help such as support groups will take place during your personal time i.e. your lunch break, or after school. More than likely, you will have second thoughts about “wasting your time taking to them,” but it is very important that you think about your future in such cases.

After all, this is high school and the decisions are up to you. If you decide to skip these help groups it will reflect on your final grade and (depending on the course) future grades.

So, whenever you come across such a feeling and decide to skip a session, just think that in five years it won’t matter that you went to this ‘stupid’ help group, only that you’re glad that you did, and decided not to waste your time by not asking for help.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my  posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

Not everybody learns the same way. I learn much better with hands-on work.

My English teacher was one of the best with this technique. During our Shakespeare unit, one of our assignments was to better understand the character of our choice. She didn’t ask us to write a two-page essay, double-sided. She didn’t even ask us to explain a lot.

Our assignment was to create a Facebook profile for this character. It could have whatever information you wanted on it, as long as it had a photo, biography, and the basics: who the character’s lover was, his or her interests and friends, and status
updates suiting the character’s personality.

My geography teacher was also great at making learning hands-on. The reason I did so well in this class was because we rarely had tests and quizzes. Instead, we had all hands-on assignments. One of our units involved studying different cultures. We had to look up living conditions of another city and try and apply them to our own. We also had to cook a meal for the class from whatever city we were studying.

However, my favourite project in geography was called the Mystery Island Assignment. For this project, we had to map out and design our own island. It had to include two towns, transportation to, from, and around the island, and a source
of power. We learned how to draw professional maps, and we learned how everything in a city depends on other things to operate.

Everything I have learned in so far in high school involving hands-on work I have no trouble remembering, because all I have to do is think of something as simple as a shape, and from there I can easily recall the information I have learned by touching,
seeing, or creating.

My mistake: Stopping While I’m Ahead. I started with a great mark in science and decided I could just sit back and relax for a while. Bad idea! Never stop while you’re ahead. It is always best to keep working hard, so that you stay ahead.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

One very important thing that you should know about high school is that if you don’t care what your marks are, it’s very likely that your teachers are not going to care either.

And why should they? They teach three to four classes a day with at least twenty students in a class. It is rare for a teacher to ask you to stay after class to discuss your bad marks, or help you better understand what you are learning.

 This year I was struggling in two of my classes: French and math.

In math class, I didn’t ask for any extra help, and my teacher didn’t offer any—even when my grades started to drop. But, my French teacher was great. She allowed me to stay after class for help, gave me tips on how to better take tests, and she even said she would allow me to take my written tests orally.

My point is that high school is very different from elementary school. You are given more freedom, and teachers start treating you more like an adult. If you are getting low grades, it is up to you to improve them. You have to learn to help yourself. You are guaranteed to succeed as soon as you learn this fact.

My Mistake: Rushing.
It is common to rush during a test, exam, or a project. All I can say is: DON’T! This causes your work to get sloppy and inaccurate. You can loose marks very fast. Just take your time and, whatever you do, do not rush!

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my  posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.

Dylan shares lessons that he learned in his first year in high school.

The Basics
I just finished grade nine and I have to say, it wasn’t as bad as far as high school stereotypes go. But, there are still some things kids should be aware of before starting grade nine.

1. Popularity. It’s a good idea to develop social skills earlier in life rather than later. It will help you a lot in high school and in the future—whatever your career might be. However, getting too hung up with the idea of “being popular” can lead to potential problems, the worst being unsuccessful grades.

2. Confusion.
 One thing you do not want to do in high school is fall behind. Confusion is usually the first step in falling behind. If you are confused about something, always ask questions about it. You may get made fun of, but the only thing that you have to worry about in high school is yourself. In the long run, you will succeed, but only if you listen to yourself and not to others.

3. Don’t Cram.
 Probably the number one thing you don’t want to do at any point in high school is cram for tests. In most cases, cramming leaves you sleep-deprived and completely clueless. Trust me, you’re much better off studying for and hour or so a night up until the test. This way you’ll have a firm grasp of the material, and you will be well rested for the big day.

4. Examinations.
 Everyone fears examinations: it’s fine if you do. The only advice I can really give you is to review and be prepared. Even if you feel that you have a good grasp on the subject, it is always a good idea to review every night. If you wait until a week before to start studying, you end up cramming.  By reviewing every night, you have a much better chance of receiving a high mark on the final.

My Mistake: 
A mistake that I made this year was that I didn’t change my schedule before the year had started. I had Math, English, Geography and French in first semester, and my two electives, Gym and Science, in the second. I had one hard semester and one easy one. It is better to balance out your courses if yours are set up like mine. The workload becomes much easier to manage when more challenging courses are spread out evenly between each semester.

About me: I go to South Secondary School in London, ON and I have two younger siblings. I have always been a movie guy. But movies aren’t the only thing I enjoy. In the summer I love to bike with my friends down to the Thames River and ride along the trails. The sights and the entire ride are always beautiful. Anyway, hopefully you’ll enjoy my new posts! Remember to leave feedback and comments at the bottom! – Dylan.