What It’s Like Being the New Kid

New+MCHS+student+journalist%2C+Katelynn+Hanna

New MCHS student journalist, Katelynn Hanna

Katelynn Hannah, Staff Writer

My name is Katelynn Hanna, and I’m a new student at Madison Consolidated High School. I just moved to Madison from Versailles, Indiana. This will be my third time moving this year and my ninth time moving in my life. Even though we’ve moved a lot in my life, I’ve only gone to three schools including MCHS.

The school I went to for most of my life was South Ripley. I had been there since kindergarten until last year. The tiny school corporation in Versailles, altogether, had 1,300 students last year between the high school, elementary, and junior high.

Then I moved to West Lafayette, home of Purdue University, at the beginning of last school year, and went to William Henry Harrison. That school was huge.

My family and I  moved from Versailles to Madison because my mom has just gotten divorced. She wasn’t married to my father, so it doesn’t affect me as much.

I feel bad for her, because I know it’s hard. They were only married for roughly eight months, but they had dated for two years before that.

I never really liked him, but she did and I just wanted her to be happy. They had bought a house together, but when he decided to leave, he wanted the house, too, so we had to move out.

My mom had just gotten a job in Charleston, and we decided to move closer to her work. She loves downtown Madison, and had been looking for a place there even though it’s still pretty far from her job.

It’s not the first time we’ve moved for her work. She’s an engineer, and she’s had some bad luck with her last jobs. They were usually either downsized or just contract jobs that only last for a while.

Obviously, MCHS is bigger than South Ripley but smaller than Harrison. I’m not the only new student to enroll at MCHS this week; MCHS has become a home to quite a few new students the last couple of weeks. In fact, on my first day here, I went on a school tour with another new student: incoming sophomore McKenzie Morris.

My first day at MCHS, I got lost about five times and that was after the tour of the school. I had to keep asking for directions, but everyone was really nice about it. Especially a girl in my journalism class who even gave me a ride home after school that day.

Morris agreed, “It’s a really big school. It’s kind of scary when first attending just because there are so many people.”

It can be really hard to transfer to a new school. It’s especially hard if you transfer in the middle of the year. You have to get caught up, and usually where you left off isn’t where they are. It can get really confusing in seven different classes.

The transition here wasn’t bad though. Most of my teachers were really helpful, and nice about me being so confused.

“Everyone I have met is really sweet though. I really like the amounts of new people I have met,” Morris said.

One great thing about going to a big school like MCHS is all the class options you have. At South Ripley everyone pretty much takes the same classes, and there aren’t that many extra curricular options.

Morris also said, “I also like all of the class options.” Which is definitely a bonus at a big school.

 

New MCHS student, sophomore McKenzie Morris

I’ve never really minded moving. I didn’t like making friends and then having to leave, but other than that moving never really affected me. I wish her new job would take us to different places, but we’re kind of settled now.

I think my sister takes moving a lot harder than I do. She is eleven, and makes friends really easily. That’s the one thing she says she misses when we move. She does like meeting new people though, which is an advantage to moving.

Going to a new school is like having a fresh start. You can try a new nickname, or make a goal that you’ll have better grades, or be in a different friend group. I see a new school as an opportunity to be better.

I’ve only been at MCHS for a few weeks so I still haven’t decided what I think of the school. I will have to get used to the number of people, but it seems like a school with a lot of opportunities. I’m really excited to see how the rest of the year goes.