By Olivia ’25
To every student that is starting at Harvard-Westlake, there are different aspects of it that might intimidate you. It might be how big the campus is, or how many students there are in your grade, or maybe it’s the homework. But what is it like for teachers who are starting here? It might surprise you to see that your teachers are having to learn about the school just as much as you are! For example, Ms. Hicks is an English teacher that just started teaching at HW this year, and she too needed to adjust to some differences at the middle school- such as the 6- day cycle and short class periods. However, just like all the new students will, Ms. Hicks has grown accustomed to Harvard-Westlake and has been able to appreciate aspects such as the Special Assemblies, saying that “the opportunity to meet and engage with artists and writers whose work I’ve engaged with is an honor”. Furthermore, as students become more comfortable in the Harvard-Westlake community, they might begin a club–similarly, Ms. Hicks says she would like to institute a Harvard-Westlake spelling bee.
Similar to students who might wish to involve themselves in extracurriculars, Ms. Hicks has some outside-of-school projects as well–such as drafting a YA novel! Overall, if being a new student at Harvard-Westlake seems intimidating, just remember that many people around you are going through the same things, and even teachers who you admire and look up to can have some difficulty getting used to a new school. However, if you just stick through the difficult part of the year, you will find yourself surrounded by amazing people, like an English teacher who helps students love to learn and has fun stories like (accidentally) drag racing on a trip to Cuba.
