Going to school is a privilege that many kids benefit from. Daily, kids wake up each morning and go to school for approximately 190 days of the year. They don’t think about what it would be like to switch schools until they have to move and leave what they know. Students who move have to say goodbye to their friends, teachers, and sometimes even family members. It can be hard for kids who move schools to make new friends and fit into their new school because they have to adapt to so much. 

This year, Southeast of Saline (SES) has 11 new high school students and 2 new high school teachers. For a small school, that is a lot of new people joining us. These kids have to adapt to changes. For instance, our school has K-12 all in one building, and most schools don’t. 

All of the new students went to a variety of schools that were both different and similar to SES in many ways. One of the students, Melissa Williams, a 10th grader, went to Salina Central in Salina Kansas. She said that her old school was way bigger than Southeast and that it was only a high school. She reported that grade school students went to a different school building. Melissa also stated that at Central, there were more fights and bullying than we experience at SES. She is happy to be at Southeast. 

SES had two new freshmen this year as well: Jack Ward and Nickolas Fletcher. Jack Ward was originally from Ireland, and then he moved into Salina. When he first moved to Salina, he attended  Sacred Heart. He was happy that Southeast of Saline had all the sports that he was looking forward to playing. Nickolas Fletcher was nervous about coming to SES because he didn’t know any students or teachers here. Fletcher said he likes Southeast because the school is very quiet and we aren’t always on the computer like his old school. 

Another student, Haivyn Nelson, an 11th grader, said that she was nervous about switching schools and meeting new people. She also stated that she was scared she wouldn’t be able to make any friends Southeast of Saline. However,  once she got here, she started making new friends fast. “ At my old school, Trojan Time was called SDL, but it was just like Trojan Time,” Haivyn said.

Many people say going to a new school is scary because you don’t know anyone, and you don’t know where to go and it’s hard when you first start. However, for the new kids at Southeast of Saline, they couldn’t wait to start making new friends at their new school, and they are already starting their journey at Southeast of Saline.