Photo credit: Laila Boodell

Lucy Bohn (’29) and Kenzy Cardenas-Elena (’29) flip through the 2024-25 yearbook. “I’m really glad I went to middle school here,” Bohn said. “I think it really made a difference, and [Archer] definitely shapes you more than other schools do.”

At the end of the school year, students are in a frenzy: Final projects are being turned in and the last tests of the year are around the corner. The eighth grade class is on the cusp of a new beginning: high school.

The Oracle sat down with eighth graders Lucy Bohn, Kenzy Cardenas-Elena and Hannah Wetzstein to discuss their reflections on middle school and thoughts about graduating.

What is one of your favorite memories from middle school?

Lucy Bohn [LB]: Arrow week. [I felt] like we could go [up] to people in different friend groups and just talk to them or say hello. I think it did bring us together in many ways.

Kenzy Cardenas-Elena [KC]: It was so fun [because] we got to bond as a group. It also made us more independent people.

Hannah Wetzstein [HW]: I feel like recently our friend group has gotten so much closer. This is the best we’ve ever been. And even at lunch, everyone’s always so happy in the conversation, everyone’s always involved, which has been fun recently.

How do each of you feel about moving from middle school to high school and what are you most excited or nervous about?

[LB]: I’m most nervous to see more social dynamics, because it’s been a while since we had a bunch of new people join — there are only 10 or 12 [new] kids, but still, it’s a difference. We’re also a very small grade already, so we will see how that will change.

[KC]: I’d say it’s important to keep a positive mindset, especially when we have to adapt to new changes, obviously. I think it can be quite scary for a big change like [many new students].

[HW]: I think it’s nice that like our grade is [small]. Obviously it’s nice to have a lot of new people and a new social dynamic, but it’s also nice that we’ll still have each other and the memories we had from middle school that we can keep building [onto].

How have extracurriculars impacted your middle school experience?

[HW]: My schedule is really busy, especially with after-school stuff. So I think it’s taught me a lot about time management and being able to manage the workload at Archer, as well as figuring out how I want to arrange my schedule.

[KC]: I think having sports and being able to do dance allows you to have free time [and] to do something that I enjoy — although it can be stressful because we have so much stuff to do at school, it’s a time where we get free air.

[LB]: I also feel like, [whether] it’s in school extracurriculars or sports, the people on those teams or in Student Council, for example, I don’t talk to them that much [outside of those activities]. So it’s nice to talk to other people and have those new conversations.

What are your biggest takeaways from middle school, and how will you carry those with you into high school?

[LB]: I think that people change [and] the opinions that you make about people or that you make about classes and teachers at the beginning of the year… most will change so much. If you really hated science in sixth grade, some people are finding it to be their favorite class this year. Or you think, ‘Oh, I’d never do an accelerated class, it’s just too much for my schedule,’ but then you realize that ‘This is something I could really thrive in, and I’m starting to understand it more.’

[HW]: I did a lot of overthinking throughout middle school, and I feel like I’ve kind of recently started to care a bit less about what people think of me. I’m going to try and carry that into high school.

[KC]: I’ve grown in confidence and stuff, socially too… I’m not a person who participates in class. I was really quiet, and now, I’m able to be really social with other people. I think that’s going to be really important for me to bring into high school, not just for me outside of school, but [also] inside of school.