Crunch Time for Students at the Halfway Point of Trimester One
October 28, 2022
By Marija B.
“These kids are amazing!”, said the director of resident life, Ms. Fox, when asked if she thought the first half of the fall trimester was a successful one. Midterms, however, present a significant challenge to all. It is important to take care of ourselves mentally, physically, and emotionally during this stressful period. We have a lot of students this year—full-boarders, five-day boarding and day students. It is important to realize and be aware of the fact that there are so many new students who are adjusting to the school system and expectations—which can lead to a good deal of stress.
Even though we have a full house this year, most are adjusting very quickly. Everyone is working hard to achieve their goals of a high grade-point average, excellent grades, and, of course, meeting and getting to know many new people.
Photo: Students in Mr. Leicher’s physics class prepare for a test before the midterm.
We asked some of the residence staff what they thought about this midterm. Everybody says that most of the students are doing pretty well. “There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong, especially the huge increase of the [student] body, plus everything going on in students’ lives,” said Nickolas DeWitt, who is one of the RA’s on staff.
Every student is trying to achieve their goals and they are giving their best to get good grades, or to continue being a good student. “I am pretty happy with the grades I have. Of course, they could be better, but they give me a good idea of how much work I will have to put in this year,” said our senior student, Adam Hathaway.
We also asked some students what they thought about the school in general, and what were their expectations.
“The school is very nice. Teachers are very engaged and want to see progress. They are very helpful and understanding as well, of course. I must also include the dean of students, Ms. Fox and the RA’s who introduced me to the school’s policies.” 11th-grade student from Montenegro, Milo B., tells us that his expectations came to fruition. Julija M., another great student from the 11th grade that is a new day student, also told us what she thought about AIS-Salzburg; “I did no have high expectations before I got here but now I feel like everything is even better than I expected!”
Photo: Mrs. Anderson works closely with students in 11th Grade English Nonfiction & Communication in the week leading up to the midterm.
Not only the students were satisfied by midterm, so too were some of the teachers we interviewed about the students and their achievements. “A lot of students have worked really, really hard and they impressed me with how quickly they got used to my classes,” said Mr. Lichty, a math teacher and an amazing advisor. The teachers are satisfied, for the most part, with the grades that students have achieved thus far.
Not all of the students have gotten used to a new school and expectations as not everybody accepts changes in their lives easily, but there are many people here who are friendly, kind and who want to help them as well. The fact we have people like these makes our school successful—just like the first midterm of the 2022/2023 school year.
Photo: Mr. Lichty was busy answering questions as grade 10 students prepared for their final math test before the midterm.