Every August, the transition from summer to school brings new changes and feelings to the Westridge campus. This year, the later release of schedules, uncertainty in the larger world, and general anxiety about the start of classes contributed to widespread worry among many Upper Schoolers. 

Sarah A. ’27 felt worried about this school year even before it started after hearing about the experience of past upperclassmen. “Before school started, I was definitely worried, because [junior year] is the hardest year, as everyone says,” she said. 

Lauren W. ’26 echoed this fear, “I was kind of scared,” she said about starting school, “because as a senior, I had to work on college applications, school work, and sports…I was definitely worried that I [couldn’t] handle the workload, and that I would just break down.”

Still, some students were excited to come back and have more social interaction. Fiala P. ’27 was especially excited to connect with people that she didn’t see during her restful summer. “I’m [still] saying hi to people, and I’m like, ‘How is your summer going?’…It’s fun to catch up,” she said.

Jasmine T. ’27 was enthusiastic about coming back to school after spending a large part of her summer on Roblox. “I was kind of excited, because I was really, really, really bored at home,” she said.

Although she initially felt some fear about transitioning to the Upper School, Emily C. ’29 felt comforted after her first few days on campus. “[Upper School] feels like a big family,” she said. “Everyone’s really kind to each other.”

Another reason that students were excited to come back was a return to Westridge traditions, including Greek and Roman Initiation and Senior Sunrise. Avani L. ’26 said, “I was honestly kind of excited to come back and start experiencing senior year … I really enjoy all the senior traditions that I would see the upperclassmen doing.” Lauren also recognized that she “noticed that [school] spirit kind of went up” during the beginning of her senior year.

Following the initial start of school, student opinions were mixed on how their years were shaping up. Sophomore Skylar R. characterized her first few days as “stressful.” She said, “some of the honors teachers were saying how hard [their class] was going to be, and [the environment] just felt different from last year.”

Even though the traditions proved really rewarding to Avani, she noted that “the homework load was pretty intense, especially because now that it’s senior year, I took a lot of rigorous classes…I really pushed myself this year.”

Noelle S. ’27 also pushed herself this year in taking the Honors alternative to the standard 11th grade precalculus class, while she had taken the non-Honors option in years prior. Even though she was excited for the new rigorous class that she took on, Noelle mentioned that the work for all of her classes started coming “so early…It’s like, you’re kind of unprepared,” she said.

Avani was also excited for the advanced classes she decided to take. “I feel very lucky to go to Westridge and have the opportunity to even experience taking rigorous courses.” She continued, “So I think that for me it’s worth it—the stress and like, the [fewer] hours of sleep, and sometimes not knowing everything that’s happening in class—if it means that I’m actually learning and pushing myself and getting out of my comfort zone,” she said.

The schedule of Convocation, where students spend time in all seven of their academic blocks, also added to the perceived tumble into academics. “The first few days are always very stressful, because … there’s  a million things [to do] on the first day,” said Alia S. ’27, who cited the fall play auditions and the Add / Drop Period as two main stressors. 

Fiala also stressed the worry surrounding Add / Drop. “One rotation is not enough for me to figure out at all what the workload [for my classes] is,” she said.

Nonetheless, many students are still optimistic about what the 2025-2026 school year has in store. “All [of] the studying and homework is very overwhelming, but I think overall, I’m going to enjoy it,” said Skylar. 

Similarly, Avani finds positivity to be the way out of a cycle of pressure. “It’s very easy to just start to feel like you’re drowning in homework and stress and life, and that kind of overpowers everything around you. And so like [it is important to] take the time to meditate or like, realize, like tomorrow is a new day,” she said.

While work is piling up for all students at Westridge, a makeshift community has been created throughout all of the stress and chaos of the first few weeks. A collective understanding of the characteristic rigor and stress at Westridge has taken place, but everyone is handling it in different ways. As Noelle succinctly put it, “We all struggle together.”