Don’t Ask Me Where I’m Going to College
Series of posters designed by Challenge Success students to promote a healthier approach to the college process in their community.
Student Created
Let’s Lift Each Other Up
One student’s take on what success has meant to her.
Race to the Bottom
Students from St. John’s in Houston share their peer’s reflections on why students ‘race to the bottom.’
Reflections on Stress & Success from a Challenge Success Student Alum
Now in my fourth year of college, I
It’s Time to Rethink How We Pick Our Classes
This article was originally published in The Piedmont
One Senior’s Reflection: Three Elements to a Meaningful Education
In June of 2018, I graduated from a small independent school in Southern California, which I attended from kindergarten through twelfth grade. My thirteen years there were a journey filled with struggle and joy, anxiety and curiosity.
Dear My Freshman Self
I recently read the letter you wrote to me, your senior self, when you were about to start high school at Menlo. You were long-winded, idealistic, and, yes, very nervous. You included two pages of motivational quotes, a long list of goals including a 4.0 GPA and a desire to start on the water polo team, and even predictions about the four years that lay ahead.
Overriding the Game:A student’s perspective on creating school policy change to improve engagement and well-being
(Some) parents felt as if our proposal was lowering the standards to make it “easier” for students in high school. But we aren’t lowering the standards: we are redefining them. We are “challenging” what they define as a child who is “successful.”
Fostering Health and Well-Being in Student-Athletes
Student-athletes at Head-Royce School face stressful challenges balancing the demands of school and sports. As an initiative to improve student-athletes’ health and well being, Challenge Success Club members decided to host a student-led H block discussing the issues and struggles of being a student-athlete in November 2017.
A Senior’s Perspective: Success in High School
Everyone wants to be successful in high school. Success comes in a variety of ways: academic success, social success, financial success (except babysitting hasn’t really been cutting it). But the kind of success that I’m describing is not something that comes in the form of a transcript or an Instagram post with this or that person. A couple of weeks ago, as college notifications were rolling out, my friend and I had a long chat and reflected on the end of high school. The conclusion we came to was one that will always stick with me: the people who truly succeed in high school are the ones that can look back and say “Wow, I had a blast doing the things I loved and I would not change a single thing.”
We Need to Challenge the Verb “Achieve”
On the wall of the library, a discolored gray slab of concrete with chipped gold paint proclaims our school motto: “Achieve the Honorable.” It glares down upon an expansive collection of books, each awaiting a curious student. It hangs above shining computers, the drab concrete words contrasting sharply with the innovative technology. It lords over students who scramble to fulfill society’s lofty expectations for success, scribbling last-minute homework to the rhythm of “achieve, achieve, achieve.”
A Student’s Perspective: The Importance of a Caring Community
On paper, Castilleja is not so different from other schools. There are other private schools, even all-girl schools, that can claim the same benefits and advantages that Casti can. At least, I used to think this was the case. A few weeks ago, I discussed the practice of Senior Talks with a friend from a different school. Her school is much like Castilleja – small, all –girls, but located in a different state. They also have senior talks, where seniors speak about an important experience or idea that they want to convey to their peers, in a speech that is often moving and deeply personal. However, at my friend’s school, the best senior talks get voted on in a competition to win scholarship money. At Castilleja, the only prize you get for a senior talk or 8th grade speech is flowers …