At the start of the class of 2028 freshman year, the freshmen were opened up to a world they had never seen before. Students had more freedom than the entire middle school combined. The dress code felt obsolete, and freshmen were so happy to be able to use their phones during school without being in trouble. 

Nehemiah Lomax, the president of the freshman class, said, “I believe the year went well, and the school did good at welcoming us to the new environment.” Freshman Isabella Melo said, The speeches were helpful for the transition. Compared to the middle school, the Upper School feels like the student body is a bird, and the Upper School finally gave us our wings back. 

The first major event that happened in 2024 was the hurricane. The hurricane ended up throwing the school schedule off. People thought that the hurricane would be a one-day thing, but it ended up turning into like a month off from school. Students’ houses were destroyed, the power was out in neighborhoods, and the internet was back to normal for months. Other freshmen like Cooper Fay said, “It was great, we got to get out of school, and it was very enjoyable.” 

In 2025, after Easter break, the administration prohibited the use of cellphones for the rest of the year. Many students were outraged, and some students were so mad that they decided to destroy school property. The bathrooms were closed down for almost a month. And sometimes all the bathrooms were closed, so students had to go to the PAC to relieve themselves. Freshman Charlie Lowarnce said, “It was annoying, but understandable because people were trashing the bathrooms and they had to, or else it would only get worse.” 

 One of the saddest things that happened this year was the fact that 43 students out of 108 missed the Conastee trip. The trip was planned to be there to help the community and to educate students. Freshman Noah Wedel said, “it could have been better if we had more stations and if the stations were shorter. It felt like there was empty time, and people just sat around.”

At the very end of the year, students thought that it was amusing to stick a lead into their Chromebook port. During this, it ends up burning the port and creating toxic fumes. Freshman Roberto Marques said that he finds it funny.

Freshman Virginia Whitaker said, “I had a great year, but I’m ready to sleep.”