A Senior Gives An Inside Look At The First Few Days Of School At MHS

By Jonathan Green, a MHS senior

     The early bell at Montclair High School on Monday, September 13 signified the beginning of the academic year for the school's nearly 2,000 students and hundreds of faculty. As the halls of the main building — which house most sophomore, junior, and senior classes — filled up, a high-pitched sound, punctuated by occasional shouts of "seniors!," "two-elev!," "we run this school!," and the like, reverberated against the sturdy and unusually bare walls. The start of the inaugural homeroom period brought friends who hadn't seen each other over the summer back together, but the merry buzz soon died down.

      As Principal James Earle welcomed students back over the PA system, and acknowledged the senior class, students began to return to their weary state of end-of-the-summer blues. As they became acquainted with their homeroom teacher, and the teachers began methodically explaining the rules and policies of the school, cries of anger were heard over all else, including the once dominant exclamations of joy and even the colloquial greeting of "what's goody?" that's so common upon seeing a friend, throughout the building.

     The new policies of the administration, who are aiming to enforce attendance and dress code requirements more strictly than any current student can remember, had many students befuddled and angered. They found out that if they show up only five minutes late to a class, they will receive a cut, which results in progressively more serious discipline and the inability to make up any missed work. Students were reminded of the cumulative absences policy, which seems absurd given that illnesses, even if confirmed by a doctor, count towards losing credit in a course, while court appearances are entirely excused. Nonetheless, most students took the new — and seemingly more serious — policies to heart, and moved on to their academic classes.

     As is often the case on the first day of school, many MHS students reported that they did not do much work in their classes on Monday, instead receiving and reading syllabus after syllabus and meeting — and no doubt making immediate judgments on — their new teachers. Some students returned to teachers they've had before and, in many cases, were none too happy. Some, especially seniors, rejoiced in the initial pleasure of having what seem to be less heavy course loads while others, notably sophomores and juniors, prepared for a long year of hitting the books heavily to earn the best grades possible in always ultra-competitive MHS.

     Nonetheless, even seniors began to feel pressure as the first few days of school passed, and much of the student body has already been assigned extensive homework by their teachers. The teachers, for the most part, have done an incredible job of remaining upbeat even with the added pressure and stress on them that resulted from the loss of department heads and colleagues, including some young, energetic — and unfortunately non-tenured — student favorites, over the summer of budget cuts. 

     Perhaps the most excited atmosphere has been the one in the freshmen building, where students formerly from all three of Montclair's public middle schools have gathered together as part of the Class of 2014. Reports from the freshman class have seemingly been all positive. As the students become adjusted to their larger school and more difficult classes, growing pains can be expected, but most freshmen seem eager to come to school in the mornings and become as involved in school functions as possible.    

     Non-academically, MHS seems as bustling as ever. Even in the face of the possible losses of some sports teams and clubs, fall athletic teams are well under way. The school was buzzing with the talk of MHS' narrow win in football last Saturday, and fall athletes have collectively been a noticeable presence on campus.  Clubs, too, are beginning to resume, as messages have been sent out to members and clubs have met to discuss beginning of the year recruitment and projects. 

    The morning announcements have already revealed the magnitude of school functions that students have devoted themselves to, and many seniors are ready to pay close attention to the ever-present notices of scholarship opportunities and colleges visiting Montclair. The stress on seniors in the first few months of school is no doubt great, and is undoubtedly amplified by the cutthroat environment that many ambitious Montclair parents have created for their children. However, the Mountie community seems ready to overcome the inevitable obstacles that the school year will present, and the majority of students are eager to get back to learning.