2026-27 FSHS Freshmen - Life of a Freshman

LINK Crew - Freshman Orientation
Are you worried about choosing classes, meeting new people, or navigating high school? You’re not alone—our LINK Crew is here to help! LINK Crew is a group of trained upperclassmen dedicated to welcoming and supporting freshmen. They can answer your questions and help you feel confident as you transition to high school.

LINK Crew Orientation is held the day before school starts in the fall. Your LINK Leader will make sure you are prepared and ready for your first day of high school.

Daily Schedule
At FSHS, we follow a 7-period schedule, though not every class meets every day. You will have 7 periods on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays, 3 periods on Wednesdays, and 4 periods on Thursdays.

The school day runs from 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on most days, with an early dismissal at 1:40 p.m. on Wednesdays.

When will I see my schedule? Can I make changes if I don't like my classes?
We aim to have schedules ready before summer begins, so it’s very important to complete your course requests at your middle school.

If your schedule isn’t available by the end of May, it will be ready by late July or early August.

Class Changes:
We give students the opportunity to request class changes before each semester. Fall semester change requests are accepted through the first three instructional days, and Spring semester requests are due before Winter Break.

Class changes can be made in the following situations:

Level changes (for example, moving from an Advanced class to a regular class, or vice versa)
Balancing class sizes

If a request does not meet one of these criteria, we cannot make the change—so please choose your initial course requests carefully!

Lunch
Our lunch schedule includes three 25-minute lunch shifts. Your lunch shift is based on:

4th period class on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays
6th period class on Wednesdays
5th period class on Thursdays

FSHS has an open lunch, so students are allowed to leave campus for lunch.

Activities

Co-Curricular

Opportunities for students to earn credit AND participate in extracurriculars

-Band -Choir

-Orchestra -Theater

-Debate -Forensics

-Yearbook/Newspaper -Leadership (Student Council or LINK)

Lettering Activities

Practice and competition outside the school day

-Quiz Bowl

-Unified Sports

Athletics

Summer workouts, required forms, and tryout information: freestateathletics.com
Submitting required athletic forms: RegisterMyAthlete.com

Important: All paperwork must be submitted electronically before a student is allowed to try out. No walk-in paperwork will be accepted.

Non-cut sports are listed below in green.

FALL

Football

Boys Soccer

Boys & Girls Cross Country Running

Girls Golf

Girls & Coed Gymnastics

Girls Tennis

Volleyball

WINTER

Boys & Girls Basketball

Boys & Girls Bowling

Boys Swimming & Diving

Boys & Girls Wrestling

SPRING

Boys Baseball

Boys Golf

Boys Tennis

Coed Track

Girls Soccer

Girls Softball

Girls Swimming

YEAR ROUND

Cheer

Pom

Clubs

Clubs are a great way to get involved in high school and meet new people. If you don’t see a club that interests you, you can even start your own!

For a full list of clubs offered at FSHS, click here: Clubs List.

MacBooks

USD 497 is a 1:1 school district, which means every high school student in Lawrence Public Schools will be issued a MacBook for use during the school year.

If you have questions or need help with your MacBook, please contact the USD 497 Technology Support Help Desk.

USD 497 Technology Support