Being successful in life, not only in school comes with setting priorities and having a schedule that you will stick to. It is easy to get distracted by the things around us, as us teenagers are always a few clicks and scrolls away from seeing tons of things online. My highest quality work always came when I was able to get in the zone. Understand that there's always time to relax once you get all your work done. Telling yourself, "I am going to work for 50 minutes and then have a 10 minute break", or something along the lines of that is a great way to get your mind into the zone. Don't take this to the extreme though, the break portion counter-intuitively is critical to your success, you need to allow your brain some time to relax, don't burn yourself out. If you are trying to juggle too many things at once, like doing a project, studying for a test, and checking your phone every five minutes, you're never going to get anything done. So, manage your time very effectively, and if you want to get something done, put all your effort into that one thing, then move onto knocking the next task off your to do list. By doing this, I was able to manage my time much more effectively, and also produce higher quality work. Especially for the athletes out there, time management is of the upmost importance. Another thing that will help one succeed is to stop procrastinating, no one is perfect at this, I know I am not. It's really easy to put things off and say "I'll do this later", but the truth is, the sooner you get it done, the sooner that weight will be lifted off your shoulders. It's really hard to not procrastinate, but personally when I didn't procrastinate, I felt so much better. This ties back into my last point about taking things one at a time, if you do things as they are handed out, you can put all your effort into that one thing, and not have to juggle so many things at once. In conclusion, the best way to be successful is to manage your time effectively, reduce distractions while working, and stop procrastinating.

Like anything, stepping out of your comfort zone and challenging yourself in what you thought you were previously capable of is something that is critical  in augmenting your experience at BCSS. Before I stepped up and pushed myself into leadership roles in the Bill Crothers leadership council I was not previously outspoken. Finding something like student council opened my eyes to my ability to push myself. To run and become president allowed me to fully maximize my BCSS experience. The best way to make the most out of your experience is to step up and get involved. Once I got involved and challenged myself I truly enjoyed my BCSS experience and took everything I was involved in as a learning opportunity. Likewise, these learning opportunities that I have encountered over the past four years will assist me in my future endeavours as I move forward as a student-athlete.  I believe the most valuable thing to take into your experiences at BCSS is the will and drive to learn and challenge yourself because when you challenge yourself and step up, great opportunities will always follow. 

Bill Crothers Secondary School offers plenty of resources to its students to assist them in achieving success in all aspects of life. I was successful because I fully utilized them. ILIP is underrated at BCSS as many students do not realize how much work can be done and how much help they can receive. I was part of many sports teams and clubs, and thus I missed quite a bit of class time due to competitions. ILIP allowed me to catch up and receive one on one time with my teachers. Teachers are another great tool that I especially went to for help when I was unclear about certain topics and for guidance on my assignments. This played a major role in my academic success, as I maintained a ninety plus average throughout my four years. I was also successful in my athletics as the coaches/teachers on the teams I was on knew the students’ strengths and weaknesses, which allowed them to tailor practices to each student-athlete while developing the team. My success at BCSS has allowed me to pursue my post-secondary education at Schulich in the BBA program.

I came to Bill Crothers knowing no one and trust me it was scary. An entirely new world full of new people and I didn't know a single one. This frightened me for some time but I quickly realized that by getting out there and becoming a part of clubs and activities was the best way for me to meet new people and build relationships. Trust me I know its scary putting yourself out there but with an environment as great as Crothers everyone is on your team and wants you to succeed. With great tools and facilities such as guidance and the scoreboard I knew about the upcoming clubs and events and was able to join in on all the fun. I played rugby, golf, football, and was even on student council and by getting out there I made so many new friends who will stay with me for the rest of my life. Crothers isn't about fitting in, it's about shining in your own way and the best way to do that is to use the resources around you to make yourself into a better individual with the confidence that you coaches/teachers are very invested in your success. 

My name is Ali Khaleghi and I am a graduate of the class of 2019 at Bill Crothers Secondary School. To say that I thoroughly enjoyed my high school experience would be an understatement, but with the benefit of hindsight, I realize that my time at Crothers could have shockingly been even better. Bill Crothers offers a multitude of community environments to take part in, many of which I only became aware of/involved in during my junior and senior years. Through involving myself in Badminton, Rugby, Student Council, and other community opportunities, a culminating effect was a high school experience that felt prosperous. I had the opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships and make life during and outside of school so much more fun. Thus my primary advice for anyone looking to make the most of their 4 years at Bill Crothers would be to get involved early on and unlike myself, make the freshman and sophomore years count too. Don’t get me wrong, those years were still very positive, but for the optimal Bill Crothers experience, I strongly recommend immersing yourself in various extra-curricular activities right away, and Crothers will quickly feel like home.