Day in the Life - David Grade 12
Arrival
I arrive at school each morning around 8:10 am, just in time to park in the conveniently located senior lot and walk to class before the 8:15 bell. When I arrive, I always run into some of my buddies and we catch up on the way to Andrews Hall for class.
A Period: IB Spanish HL Year 2
As I enter the classroom, I’m greeted by my fellow classmates and receive a genuine “Cómo estás David” from my teacher, Profe Seiden. Each class, we learn about different cultural and historical aspects of the Spanish language and discuss a broad range of vocabulary to make connections with the world and bolster our language.
Advisory:
Next, advisory. Advisory is definitely one of my favorite parts of each day at Saint Andrew’s. Every grade is divided into roughly a dozen advisories, with about 13 kids in each one. Sometimes, if I have a big test coming up or some work I really need to get done, I’ll put these 40 minutes to use in that regard. Other times, on Tuesday’s and Friday’s, we have Chapel and Assembly during advisory, to grow spiritually and build community, respectively. Our group has become so close after the last four years that outside of school, I often spend time with these friends, and we even had a barbeque one weekend where all of our families joined together for a home cooked meal.
D Period: AP Calculus BC
At Saint Andrew’s, the teachers and classmates make all the difference. A stellar example is in my period D Calculus class. My math teacher, Mr. McCullough, teaches us Calculus by hammering the “why” behind all the concepts we use. Instead of making us regurgitate the same information he provides in class, he proves nearly every concept we apply so we really understand the fundamentals and form a stronger base of the most essential advanced mathematics course.
F Period: IB Psychology SL
After my 5-minute transition period, I enter my psychology class, taught by Mr. Pettine, an IB teacher who has worked numerous years in both Thailand and Egypt. He studies psychology from biological, cognitive, and sociocultural perspectives and employs this concept in structuring our curriculum, which is divided into 3 basic units, one for each approach. While I’m not an IB student, I love that Saint Andrew’s still allows me to take IB courses so I can embrace this more evaluative and analytical learning style for college and beyond.
Lunch
Lunch itself is fantastic. With a salad bar, pizza every day, and sandwiches, in addition to the main entree of the day, there’s delicious food options for everyone, despite preferences and allergies. Once I sit down, I get an opportunity to meet students from other grades, from all over the world, bond with friends, and spend time with people in my grade that I don’t have any classes with, helping me develop skills to interact with all types of people and build on the lifelong friendships I’ve formed here.
G Period: IB Biology HL Year 1
After lunch, I make my way over to the science building for biology class. Unlike most schools, who have their students take biology as freshmen, Saint Andrew’s usually expects their students to take biology as juniors or seniors, which gives Mr. Campanero the confidence to dive deeper into the material, building on our existing knowledge in physics and chemistry. Since biology is part of our everyday lives, we often break from the structured schedule of class to explore connections between the information we’re learning and real-world scenarios, making each topic more digestible and relatable.
After School
Once the bell rings, I spend 10 minutes in the Cohen Commons area making plans with friends and catching up before my 3:00 pm student council meeting. Each meeting, representatives, class presidents, my student body vice president and I gather to discuss ideas to build community, increase school spirit, and improve student life. After our productive sessions, I debrief with my fellow senior student council members on the way to the senior lot. Then, I train for my sport. I’ve taken advantage of SA’s independent study option for athletics to train for American Ninja Warrior. During practice, I endure grueling training sessions with other elite ninjas, of varying ages, from around the world, so I can improve strength and efficiency for my competitions.