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Image property of C. O'Hara
Video by: Gavin Perlow
SENIORS: It's Application Time !!!!
By Leela Francois Mia Huicochea
As upcoming seniors, many students have been struggling with the college application process. A lot of students go full-fledged with applying to schools not knowing what to do and how to properly apply. As the days pass by, more students have sweat dripping down their heads confused about where to even start. Although it’s a very stressful process, here are some tips and information from your guidance counselor to make it a little easier.
As we all know guidance counselors here at Comsewogue are here to help through the bumpy process. We asked Ms. Hirko some questions about the college application process and she gave us some instrumental tips to make the process easier. If you do not know who Ms. Hirko is, she has been working here at Comsewogue High School for 18 years as a guidance counselor. As we dive in more she told us the most common mistake that students make is starting off too late. Summer can be fun and stress-free but once September hits, guidance counselors come into your classroom to speak about the infamous Common App, Naviance, and lastly the college essay. Hirko stated that ¨it's best to start having your recommendation letters written at the end of your junior year.¨ Many teachers get a lot of requests to write students recommendation letters and some ask too late leaving them to be declined, and having them lose an opportunity for a great recommendation letter.”
Another amazing tip that can help us, seniors, is to be on top of your deadlines. Although there are so many deadlines happening all at once it's very important to follow them and not procrastinate, especially when filling out the common app. As we interviewed her she stated the best places to go if you ever have questions or concerns with filling anything or meeting the requirements for certain colleges within the building, are the guidance office and the 2023 Google classroom where you can find all kinds of information. If your question is still not answered you can simply just make an appointment with your guidance counselor and they will be more than happy to help you throughout this stressful time. It’s very important to get everything supervised by an adult or by simply your guidance counselor because this will make the process easier and less stressful on everyone's behalf. The following tip that can help push you in the right direction is doing everything with your guidance counselor. Applying to colleges at home and not with your guidance counselor may not always be the best decision. A part of our guidance
Comsewogue students and teachers were interviewed about the regents coming back mandatory to the High School in June because they had been optional due to COVID the year before.
During the sanitary emergency of 2020, the federal government allowed the cancellation of all standardized exams, regents as one of many. In 2021, the cancellation was not accepted, but it was not a mandatory requirement. Regents made a comeback this year, and with that, a lot of questions.
Students and teachers were asked how do you feel about the Regents? Are they stressful? Mr. McBride, a social studies teacher, was the first person we interviewed. One of the main questions asked was, “What do you think about the regents coming back this past year?” Mr. McBride, from a teacher’s point of view, says, “It wasn’t so bad, it was kind of nice, but now that it’s back, it gives us (the teachers) something to see what our students’ knowledge base is.” He also says, “It helps us as teachers see what we need to focus on for the following year and see what we did well.”
When asked about regents being stressful towards teachers and students, he answered, “I think it is first stressful towards students because some need to take this test to graduate. It is talked about throughout the entire year and it just adds more pressure on students. For the teachers, it is the pressure of how good of a job we did during the year, if we taught the right stuff, we do not know what is on it, so I just think it adds a lot of stress on everybody.”
Pedro Hernandez, a Comsewogue High School Student, was also interviewed as one sample of the student community. He answered our question about regents returning, saying, “It is what it is. If it is what the state wants, I don’t care”. We asked him about regents being stressful, to which he replied, “Yes, studying for the regents is stressful and taking the regents is stressful itself.”
Dominic Puleo, another student community member, was asked the same two questions. For the first one, he replied, “I am not quite a fan of the regents coming back this year. I hate it.” for the last question, he said, “It is stressful because if I do bad, the teachers do bad.”
But this is not only happening inside the confines of Comsewogue, nor only inside this state or this country. COVID had an impact on education all over the world. Staying safe and healthy was the main priority. Important exams were suspended or replaced by more flexible alternatives adapted to the difficult conditions we were facing at the time. Catching up now can be challenging.
Regents are a stressful experience for all who make part of them. That is why supporting each other and lightening the load is essential during this school year.
Regents are back!
Regents are back!
by Camila Perez & Jake Sokolowski
Video by: Maeve Micheline
First Summer After Covid
First Summer After Covid
How much did Covid really affect the summer of Comsewogue's students?
Jenna Levine & Julia Arriaga Martinez
Video by: Ryan Flaherty
After two years stuck in quarantine, students were finally able to enjoy their summers. With this in mind, we went out and interviewed a few of Comsewogue’s students and asked them how this summer was different compared to the last two years of quarantine.
Summer is a time for students to unwind and find time for themselves, to relax and forget about the stresses brought on by school. Do you remember when quarantine first started? We all thought we’d have a couple of weeks off of school and we would never have to hear the word ‘covid’ again; however, we all know that’s not what happened. How hard was it when our summer was taken away from us because of covid? How much did it really affect students?
Everyone knows the last two years of summer everything was shut down because of covid. Traveling and going on vacation were merely a distant memory. Jack Montoya recalls what his quarantine days were like, “It was tough, I kinda just stayed in my house the whole time and didn't really interact with anyone besides my family.” The general consensus was that being trapped in one’s house was strenuous, to say the least.
Another student, Julianna Landani, recalls her summers during quarantine, “During covid, I would pretty much—since we couldn’t really go anywhere, I would just sit home and watch TV.” Now, who wants to be sitting inside doing nothing all summer? Definitely not the students at Comsewogue high school.
Now that many of the covid restrictions have been lifted, students were able to thoroughly enjoy their summers. Many students agreed that they were able to do so much more this summer compared to the last two years. Students agreed that vacationing, beachgoing, and hanging out with friends were all possibilities this summer. No more being trapped in one’s house, and no more covid restrictions holding us back.
Jack Montoya told us how this year was different, “ I was able to go outside more and interact with more people because of not being in a pandemic. I was able to do things like go on vacation and go to the beach and play some beach volleyball, so my summer was definitely better.” Now that sounds like a summer the students at Comsewogue look forward to each year.
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