New students join McNick for the 2018/2019 school year

Freshman year is a time to meet new people, to become involved in extracurricular activities, and to find one’s place within the McNicholas community but for new 2^nd, 3^rd, or 4^th year students, the experience is much different. For the 2018-2019 school year, McNicholas welcomed eight transfer students from the following schools: Steven Baker, Moeller; Adilyn Garvey, Clark Montessori; Allison Mayne, Turpin; Jackson Moulder, St. Francis DeSales ; William Ross, Moeller; Brendan Schoening, Moeller; Jada Wheeler, Purcell-Marian ; Li Yingnan, Beijing No. 27.

Unlike freshmen, where they’re learning the ins and outs of the community as a unit, transfer students find themselves needing to integrate into the student body at a more rapid pace.

Junior Adilyn Garvey comes to McNick after spending her first two years of high school at Clark Montessori. “My experience here differs in commonality between peers. I love the atmosphere here at McNick, and I appreciate the respect I’ve seen between teachers and students,” Garvey said.

“I felt like at my previous school I was doing a lot of busy work. Here at McNick I feel like we get smaller amounts, but I’m pushed to try different things within the work we get,” Garvey added. “McNick has a very light atmosphere. The teachers are humorous and caring as well as the students.”

Seniors Steven Baker and Jada Wheeler transferred from Moeller and Purcell-Marian high schools, respectively. They both said that their personal accomplishments and attributes help them stand out in the community. “I went to the National Student Leadership Conference in July 2017 for sports management,” Baker said, while Wheeler said that she is “extremely empathetic and easy to talk to,” which makes for “great communication skills.”

“My sister and my friend Griffin Jutze drew me to McNick. My sister went here and graduated in 2016. Griffin is in my grade and I’ve been friends with him for a long time,” said junior Brendan Schoening. “I feel like McNick has a nicer atmosphere of people, and everyone from any grade is friends.”

“My experience with McNick so far is so amazing. Everyone has been very welcoming to me, which made adjusting very easy,” junior Allison Mayne said about her transition from Turpin High School to McNicholas. “All of the teachers are so helpful and I can tell they truly care about us, the students, which makes me very happy.”