Impressions of a New Farmer: What do the Freshman Have to Say About Hayward High?

By Isla Salgado

The electric bell buzzes. Swarms of students—excited or disgruntled—pace down the school’s network of paths to get to their very first class of the school year…and, in the case for Freshmen, their very first day of Hayward High! As there are many classes in this massive school, navigating through the campus may be difficult, especially for those who are unfamiliar with the campus.

Sean Joseph, a former student from Bret Harte Middle School states, “I was actually 30 minutes late to PE.” Additionally, Nishant Singh states, “Oh yeah, I was actually late to all of my classes.” his friend, Ezekiel Mensah chimes in “Oh, I got lost on the first day.” Though eventually, students were able to adapt, “It took me a little bit of 2 days before I started to get the hang of it,” expresses Yaritza who is in Ms. Ibinson‘s 6th period. And once their classrooms have been found, the freshmen can agree that they enjoy their courses and teachers already! “I like the teachers— they hired the right people,” says Allison Bui.

Freshmen are excited for the many opportunities that this campus offers, Chantrea Finkes states: “A club [that she is interested in] that my older sisters are a part of. I think it’s called FNL. It is part of Eden Youth…basically they bring awareness to drugs and alcohol.”

Plus, its not just Hayward High’s extensive offerings of clubs that appeal to freshmen: a student named Anthony from Ms. Ibinson’s 6th period class finds interest in music-based classes: “Marching band or band in general [he plans to take] because I like music a lot and I want to learn more about it.” Anthony is in luck, as there are a plethora of art courses to explore one’s creativity, including Piano, Jazz, Choir, and numerous levels of Art and 3D design.

It seems as though the freshmen in Hayward High have great aspirations. While the year is young, Freshmen are off to a great start of their first year. Even so, the Freshman will have a lot to look forward to, including the highly anticipated Downtown Rally, the Homecoming dance, Club Day, multi-themed and seasonal spirit weeks, Hay Day, and all sorts of events that will be held throughout their four years in Hayward High.