Students entered through every entrance, searching for their friends, studying their maps for the quickest route to their classes. On August 13th, freshmen came onto campus, ready to tackle their first day of high school.

Before the first bell rang, many problems had begun to arise. Traffic for new students was unlike what they were used to in middle school. Cars typically sit bumper to bumper down Rhode Island before the day even begins. For freshman Bradley Brown, the traffic caused a bumpy start to his day.

“The traffic [was the most stressful part of the day] in the parent pick up line, I got really car sick,” Brown said, “People were cutting my mom off, it was very different from middle school.”

Besides the traffic problems, and lack of sleep, Brown did not let this defeat his day. Every class was still attended eagerly. The anticipation of reuniting with friends kept his adrenaline running.

“I was up until 4 am, I got an hour of sleep, it didn’t affect me at all, I was wide awake.” Brown said, “I was excited to see my friends, I wasn’t really scared because I know if you are just calm nothing bad will happen.”

Teachers know how important the day is for freshmen, and often try to encourage the students not to give up even during the most stressful part of their day, trying to adjust to a new environment and learn at the same time.

“The day was stressful, but all of the teachers were really helpful and pointing me where to go,” freshman Onnalee floriano said, “Most of the time I had no idea where I was going so [the teachers] would tell me which way to go.”

The day wrapped up soon after the first pep rally of the year, and freshmen began to prepare for the day shared with the other students of the school. For some, they were taken aback by just how many people appeared on campus.

“The second day surprised me at first with how many people there were,” freshman Laren Musson said, “But I felt prepared because I knew a lot of upperclassmen so most made me feel welcome. They didn’t make me feel like they ruled the school.”

Being a freshman on the second day of school is still stressful, and hundreds of older students crowding the halls does not make that much easier. For freshmen Amarilys Santana, the crowding was not too much to handle, she just needed time to adjust with help.

“Everyone was calmer, but there were a lot more people.” Santana said, “Some of the hallways got a little crowded, throughout the day it got better. Teachers were willing to help us, they told us that we could ask them where our classes were.”

By day three, students seemed to be falling into place. Freshmen day was a learning opportunity, so the new students could adjust to the busy environment of a new school.