Alvaro Mendoza, a freshman, is still trying to adjust to this whole new chapter in his life – high school. The road can get a little bumpy on the way, but he stays optimistic about facing these new issues in his first year here at The Islands.

It’s pretty challenging attending a much bigger school with older students. Just when they thought they ruled the school, they have to start from the bottom again.

Mendoza stated “It’s hard waking up earlier. I used to start school at 8:30 AM at Ocean View.” I’m sure many students can relate to this about getting up early in the morning. Not only freshman, but basically everyone can relate to this, because everyone would most likely get up around 10:00 or 11:00 AM during summer.

When asked about fixing this issue, Mendoza replied “I will start to sleep earlier to adjust to this new schedule.” Smart idea, kid.

Mendoza isn’t the only freshman at The Islands with a back to school issue, Jose Ambriz, another Freshman, has a few of his own.

Having to practice for football after school can get pretty difficult. Especially, in the burning heat.

Ambriz stated “I thought summer ended! Football practice is a pain in the butt!” Imagine running and practicing with all that football gear and around 90 degree weather? Yikes!

This hasn’t been the first time that it’s been an issue for Ambriz. He stated, “Oxnard is always bipolar like this. It’s cold in the morning and then burning hot in the middle of the day.”

Teachers don’t have it so easy either, they have to deal with the heat as well. Francisco Salazar, 11th and 12th grade teacher, has back to school issues, as well.

Salazar stated “I think really just the balancing of classes because you get new students  about 2 weeks into the school year and you try to catch them up. Or maybe when you build a good relationship with a student and then he/she transfers out, it’s a bummer.

That’s only one of many back to school issues Salazar has. He also mentioned the freshman. “Why are freshman running around and chasing each other? Just go to class or hang out, stop chasing each other.”

Salazar has a busy schedule, but he commented that he just “goes with the flow” to adjust to things. “It’s something that you could bring up to your superiors, but in reality, I mean, it’s just something you have to adjust to and you have to just go with it.”