Back To School: Moving to a New School

Whether you are moving to a new neighborhood or making the leap to middle or high school, the first few weeks may be filled with anxiety as well as excitement. These tips will help you make a smooth transition to your new school.

Click for tips on how to adjust and make new friends!

• Keep a positive attitude.
• Remember that there will be other new students feeling the same way you do. Keep in mind that school is a place where you get to learn new things and make new friends.
• Get involved at school.
• Participate in at least 1-2 activities that you’re interested in. You’ll be more likely to make friends through clubs and sports because they share the same interest as you.
• Explore the school.
• If you can, explore your school before the school year starts. That way, you can figure out where your classrooms are, where the cafeteria and restrooms are, etc. That way, you’ll know exactly where to go on the first day, and this might help you feel less nervous. When I started high school and college, I actually carried a map around with me for the first few weeks.
• Rid yourself of the early morning panic attack by organizing your school bag, clothes and other supplies you can need the night before.
• Get to know your teachers.
• Talk to them, ask them questions, see if there are more opportunities for tutoring if you need help!
• Make friends. Don’t be shy!
• During the first week of school, people are very open to meeting new people. So you should introduce yourself right away to as many people as possible, and suggest things like eating together at lunch, sharing a textbook in class, studying together, etc. Be yourself, definitely don’t lie, but remember that this is a new school... so you have the chance to be who you weren’t at your old school. If you don’t know where something is, ask! If you’ve moved to a new town, a good way to make friends and let people know that you’re new is to ask where the fun places to hang out are.
• Be confident and make eye contact.
• Don't worry too much about what they think of you, - you'll over think the situation and they might judge you for being that. Be genuine, and yourself, & be nice to everyone, - no matter how mean they appear to be at first. It's usually always the 'girl/guy that I hated at my new school' that starts to be friends with you after a little sincerity. But then again, don't be afraid to stand up for yourself, - if it's very clear that you should.
• For your first lunch, talk a lot to people in the class right before lunch.
• Usually, they will ask you if you're sitting with anyone, but if not, steer the topic towards school lunch (as in “is the food good,” etc). If no one specifically mentions eating together, but you're walking to the cafeteria together, then it's implied that you'll eat lunch together.
• For the first week at your new school, be nice to everyone and talk to everyone, even if they seem weird.
• They could always know people you'd rather be friends with or introduce you to more people.
• After you've talked to someone a few times, ask for their contact information.
• Even better, ask them to do something over the weekend.
• Remember people's names.
• Do your best to remember other people's names and interests. More importantly, don't be afraid to ask people more than once what their names are.

I hope these tips helped! :) Good luck with your first day.

xx Lucy

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