Now that 2022 is well underway, many students have the resolution to succeed this new semester. 

Here at Rocky Mountain High School, teachers and students alike are here to answer this very question. History teacher, Josette Bell, highlights the importance of keeping on top of assignments. Bell said the biggest mistake students make in the classroom is “Procrastination.” 

 “Do a little bit of work for your classes every night, even if it’s just 20 minutes, you’d be surprised what you can work out. But you can knock out things 20 minutes at a time,” Bell advised. “It all counts. Whether you’re doing it at home or you’re doing it in the classroom,” Bell said.  

Speech and Debate teacher Zachary Borman shares a similar sentiment about the importance of taking small steps: “When you get overwhelmed, it’s because you’re looking at the forest rather than the individual trees.” 

So you are working on chipping away at new assignments; what’s the next step? Both Borman and Bell urge students to practice self-awareness. “I would say look at yourself and what has been kind of problematic in your previous behavior,” Borman said. “So it’s in being self-reflective, and really trying to understand where your problem is deriving from.”  

Bell also encourages students to look at their mistakes from the past semester. “If they were missing a lot of assignments and got really behind last semester, then obviously punctuality is something to work on. If they didn’t do as well on their tests, but they let opportunities slide by to retake them, I would recommend focusing on the tests”. 

“So maybe the best thing to do if they’re looking to raise their grade is to look back at what caused them to trip the previous semester. What was their biggest fault that caused them to not score as high as they wanted to last time?” 

Simon Gorringe, a sophomore at Rocky, shares some of his advice on success in the classroom. Gorringe explained that he does not immediately get to the homework and studying when he gets home: “I take a break for an hour or two and then I put in like 30 minutes and then I take another break and put in another 30 minutes. I put in a certain amount of time and then I take a break and do something fun to like, refresh my brain so that I’m ready to continue. I found that, for me, that it helps me retain information better or with studying and stuff.”  

Gorringe is currently looking to become an engineer in the future, and working hard in school is a priority for him. “I want to get somewhere in my life and I think if I work hard in school, it’ll pay off as I get older,” Gorringe said. 

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