From Tiny Private School to “Huge” Public School
Making the transition from St. Luke to Knoch
November 6, 2017
While Knoch may seem like a tiny school to most students, it’s nothing compared to St. Luke. Classes at St. Luke tend to average around 10-15 students, so imagine making the transition to a school about 20x bigger than what you’ve known your whole life. That is the transition many more of your classmates than you may realize have made.
One of the biggest shocks in changing schools is how many more people there are here.
Some students shared their thoughts from their first day of freshman year at Knoch.
“So. Many. People,” said Junior Nikki Ambrose, “My St. Luke’s class had a grand total of 11 kids, and you can ask any one of my friends, I still can’t tell you the names of half the kids in my grade.”
Sophomore Dori Shearer agrees.
“The hardest thing about transitioning was adjusting to having so many more students. This brought about changes in how discipline works. At St. Luke, you could barely ever get away with anything, but it was a very big shock to see what was considered ‘okay’ at Knoch,” she said.
For freshman Ella DiSanti missing her old classmates has been the hardest thing, but she is slowly adjusting.
“I miss my classmates more than anything, but I like that I get to see so many more people every day here than I ever did at St. Luke,” she said.
The first day at a new school is tough, as you can imagine. But there are some things that make it easier for new students.
“Having half of my old class come over with me to Knoch definitely made me feel more comfortable in this new huge school,” said Ambrose. “I knew or met someone in each of my classes by the end of the first day so I knew I had someone to help if need be. And indeed I did need the help; I can’t tell you how much I got lost that first day.”
Once students have made the transition, things seem to get much easier and they begin to enjoy their time here.
“I like the opportunities I have at Knoch and how I can find people that share a lot of my same interests,” said Shearer. “I was in the ensemble of the musical last year and I was on the volleyball team both this year and last; at St. Luke’s we had plays, but not at all to the caliber of Knoch, and we didn’t have any sports at all.”
According to Shearer, being on the volleyball team played a big part in making her transition to Knoch much easier.
“Being on the volleyball team allowed me to make friends before school even started, and all of the upperclassmen on the team were willing to show me around the school and check up on how my day was, or just say ‘hi’ in the hallways,” she said.
Ambrose also enjoys all the new opportunities at Knoch. “There’s so much freedom of choice, whether it be in friends, classes, or clubs,” she said. “I love all the extra curriculars here, and getting to experience them with all these people I didn’t even know existed three years ago is unreal.”
Another big worry when changing schools is the curriculum. Will it be easier? Harder? The same?
“The classes are harder by choice; at St. Luke’s there wasn’t a whole lot of leeway in the curriculum for gifted students,” said Ambrose. “At Knoch I can challenge myself, for example, by taking six different AP classes, something I never even would have thought possible back in eighth grade.”
According to the students, St. Luke prepared them well for high school.
“Even though the curriculum is more advanced, I have been able to keep up and learn a lot from my classes,” said Shearer.
Although the positives of Knoch outweigh the negatives for new students, there are still some things they miss about St. Luke.
“I miss the family-like closeness of St. Luke,” said Shearer. “All of the teachers knew your strengths and weakness and were able to adjust their lessons to cater to your abilities so you can achieve success. Your classmates were like siblings, and they always knew how to cheer you up when you were down.”
Ambrose also shared fond memories of St. Luke.
“I always think of my time there with nostalgia over the simplicity it had. My class never had any of that typical drama (middle school was great for me, I don’t know about all of you Knoch kids though) and I never had to worry that my classmates were judging me or that I would be left out because it was a Christian environment and that type of stuff never happened. It really made me have an optimistic outlook on life,” she said.
Students who have already made the transition shared some advice for future students changing schools.
“I would suggest getting involved in something,” said DiSanti. “You will have a group of people that you have similar interests with, and it makes it a lot easier coming into a larger school knowing that you have a couple people you can rely on.”
Ambrose said, “Don’t stress out too much; it’s a huge, overwhelming, crazy culture shock at first, but for every jack wagon you meet there’s at least three awesome people you’re so much happier having in your life.”
“Don’t try to be anything you’re not. If at first it seems like you’re not “fitting in,” then you just need to be patient. People will recognize how amazing you are, and you will find a lot of people with your same interests,” said Shearer, “Throw yourself into new experiences, and you will find a lot of new friends and hopefully find your niche.”
Although the transition can be hard, students are ultimately thankful for their time at both schools.“I wouldn’t trade my time at St. Luke’s for anything, and it really helped shape me in both morals and personality, but Knoch helped me become 100x more extroverted and outgoing than I ever was as St. Luke’s,” said Ambrose. “And honestly, despite its ~imperfections~ Knoch has been great for me. The teachers, students, clubs, and courses here are everything I would ask from high school and more.”
