We all know starting a new school year as a freshman can feel exciting and overwhelming, with harder classes and a whole new level of independence. The good news? Students and teachers have advice for you. Mrs. Mortier is a well-known Freshman Advisory teacher; before that, she was an assistant principal for ten years, and she started teaching Spanish in 1997. Mrs. Mortier is loved by everyone, and she builds genuine relationships with her students and teaches them the skills they need to be successful. Another well-known freshman advisory teacher, Mr. Wise, has worked at Ukiah High School for two years. Before this, he was in the Navy for twenty-seven years. He also plays many instruments, but especially the drums. Mr. Wise works hard to keep his classroom an inclusive environment for all of his students.

After talking with these two teachers and other UHS students, we’ve created the following freshman survival guide to help you feel prepared, confident, and ready to make the most of your high school career.

 Ella and Millie’s Top 10 Tips for a Successful Freshman Year

1. Stay organized from day one.

Use a planner or digital calendar for assignments and tests. Learn your school’s schedule so you’re never late. A map of the school is on the website. Downloading Saturn on your phone can also help students keep track of their schedules and be on time. Millie also uses notion.com to keep track of assignments and tests. Check it out!

Mrs. Mortier also weighed in: “I think [students] need organization. Most often, students aren’t missing assignments or not doing work on purpose. It’s just ‘oh I forgot.’” 

2. Check your grades regularly.

Don’t wait until report cards. You will get behind if you don’t pay attention to your grades. Keep track of Aeries to know which classes you are behind in.

3. Get enough sleep.

Getting enough sleep can be the deciding factor in how your day goes. If you have a hard time sleeping at night, you can try melatonin, white noise, or listening to podcasts and music. 

When asked what advice she would give to students who are balancing academics, activities, and personal life, Mrs. Mortier said, “Ooh, self-care.” She also emphasized the benefit of sleep.

4. Choose friends wisely.

Surround yourself with people who support you. Don’t let negative people hold you back. When asked about the best way to handle friendship changes in high school, Mr. Wise responded,

“That’s a tough one, but it happens in every stage of life.” He concluded by suggesting that students “embrace new friendships.”

5. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

Taking a step outside of your comfort zone can help you grow and meet new people. New people can expand your understanding of others, and can help you learn the type of friend and person you want to be. Mrs. Mortier says, “Being kind to each other doesn’t have to be a best friends kind of thing.” She also suggested that freshmen “talk to people [they] don’t know.”

6. Don’t procrastinate. 

Small assignments pile up fast in high school. Getting behind is ok, but you should ask your teachers for advice. When asked what’s the best way for freshmen to build confidence in high school, Mr. Wise suggested, “Just put in some effort. Try your best at all you have to do, and ask for help when you need it.”

7. Use school resources.

Tutoring is provided before and after school. Counselors and libraries exist to help you. Use them!

8. Attend class.

Missing a class makes things difficult. Most classes have built-in class work, and often can’t be completed online, so do your best to attend!

9. Don’t be afraid to try new things.

High school is for exploring interests. At Ukiah High, we have 30+ clubs, so there is a good chance you will find something you like. Mr. Wise advises, “A good habit to develop is being open-minded.”

10. Take care of your mental health. 

It’s okay to feel overwhelmed—talk to someone. Mr. Wise suggests that freshmen who put too much pressure on themselves: “learn positive ways to help with work/life balance, like making sure you give yourself downtime and find stress reduction techniques that work for you.”

We also asked Mrs. Mortier if she could give the freshmen one piece of advice, what would it be? Her response was “help your teachers get to know you.”

We asked Mr. Wise what he would want to say directly to freshmen reading this article, and he responded, “Jump in, hold on, and make the best of your time here! It will go fast!” 

Freshmen, there are so many activities, sports, clubs, and people in a new school, and that might be intimidating, but the best thing you can do is put yourself out there. This is the time to try new things; it’s ok if your goals change as long as you keep working toward your future. You don’t need to have your life figured out yet, but this is the time to think about what you want to do.  

Good luck! 

After the 2025-2026 school year, the Wildcats underwent a significant change to the bell schedule at Ukiah High School.

As we wrapped up the first semester, Wildcats have had time to adjust to the changes. While some students appreciate the shift and its benefits, others have expressed mixed feelings about the new schedule. As we gather insights from our peers through interviews and an anonymous survey, it’s clear that this change has sparked a variety of opinions within our school community.

One of the new features is U-Time, a dedicated space for Wildcats to focus on their academics and catch up on assignments. Students can also use this time to visit their teachers for extra assistance or to make up tests and quizzes.

Another change involves Monday, which is now a school day where Wildcats experience a rapid schedule, attending all seven periods without U-Time. The design of this structure is intended to offer students an overview of all their classes; however, many Wildcats are feeling conflicted about this change. Some noted that they find it difficult to complete their classwork due to the rapid pace. Those in AP classes, in particular, find this day extremely challenging as they struggle to keep up with their heavy workload.

Junior Kira Douthit shared her experience losing previous tutorial periods: “I was able to get a lot more help in the past two years before this [change] because I utilized my tutorial period and received personal math tutoring for about 90 minutes multiple times a week.” 

She continued, “Now with U-Time, I feel like I’m being a bit shortchanged in terms of the help I can receive. With the classes I have and the challenging assignments, I usually only get one assignment done during U-Time.” She also expressed that she had more access to one-on-one time with teachers in the previous design.

One student, when asked, “How do you feel about the recent bell schedule change?” said that they did not like the schedule change because, like Kira, they do not feel like they have enough time to get work done. The student shared, ”On Mondays, you can never accomplish anything, especially in AP classes.” They also said that even when utilizing U-Time, “I feel like I do not have enough time, and when I don’t have anything to do, it feels pointless.”

We also spoke with Adam Lane, a Chemistry teacher at Ukiah High. When discussing the addition of U-Time, Lane shared: “I think not every teacher or student is utilizing it as effectively as they could.” He offered a positive perspective, saying, “It’s been great to give students an opportunity during school to reassess their work, so they don’t have to rely solely on after-school tutoring. Providing time during the day for students to seek help is really beneficial.”

The UHS News Team interviewed Ukiah High’s principal, Dr. Analese Alvarez, about her views on campus culture with this new bell schedule. 

Alvarez addresses the positive impact of the new schedule on attendance rates: “The first thing we see as an impact of the schedule is that our attendance rate is improving a lot, like our chronic absenteeism rate. At the end of the first semester last year, 30% of our students were chronically absent from school, which means they missed more than 10 days.”

Alvarez shares this year’s improved absenteeism stats: “This year we’re at 15%. We cut that [previous number] in half.” She expressed that this allows the school to “really narrow down and look at students who are struggling and provide services to them because they’re coming to school, whereas [before] they just weren’t.” 

Alvarez highlights the main purpose of U-Time, stating that, “It is not our intention through any academic intervention to provide time for students to do homework. It’s to provide intervention to support where you may need extra help.”

She ended with her perception of how the schedule has affected the UHS campus culture. “Overall, for me, I don’t know a better way to say this, but campus just feels better this year.”

Another change is the late start on Wednesdays and Fridays. Wildcats begin their second-period class at 9:30 AM, which is an hour later than other days. While some people believe this is a significant benefit, others disagree.

In the survey, we asked students to identify anything about the schedule they would like to change. One Wildcat reported feeling conflicted about the end and start times of school and class: “Classes ending at different times every day makes the schedule unnecessarily confusing. It’s hard to remember when anything starts or ends.”

When asked, “How do you feel about the new bell schedule?” another student expressed frustration. “I understand that not everyone used the tutorial period academically, but that shouldn’t take away from the students who did. The solution shouldn’t be removing support for the students who rely on it—it should be encouraging better use of that time.” 

As of now, students are still going through bumps and hardships in the learning curve of the new schedule. Dr. Alvarez shared with journalism students that the district will require us to keep the current schedule for a minimum of three years before implementing any additional changes. 

There may be mixed feelings about the schedule thus far, but by the end of the year, students may grow to appreciate it more than they do now. What do you think?

Welcome back, Wildcats! Now that we are recharged and refreshed, it’s time for the second semester. Time for harder lessons and hopefully new goals to improve grades and attendance. An Instagram poll revealed the goals that Ukiah High Wildcats have for this upcoming semester. 

The main goal students have for the second semester is to study more, but only 34% of students said they planned to seek out tutoring. Other academic goals students have are improving their GPA and passing all of their classes. Some students have specific goals to improve their study habits, such as studying in advance and not just the night before. Someone mentioned trying the blurting method for studying, which is where you write down everything you remember about a topic, then check your notes to find things that you may have missed, and then study that. 

It’s not just students who have new goals for the semester. Math teacher Mx. Palmerin has plenty of things planned for semester two. Palmerin hopes to have fun and more engaging projects to do with her classes. She used to do a lot more projects before COVID hit, and she remembers how engaging it was for students.

To increase student motivation and engagement this semester, Palmerin hopes to be more on top of grading. She has noticed that students become more motivated to talk to her and turn in their work when Aeries is up-to-date. Palmerin also hopes to observe other math teachers to gain even more ideas on different styles of teaching and building relationships with students.

Best of luck to everyone in achieving their goals!