Despite our small school of six hundred, Bear River is home to a variety of interesting students. With around fourteen to eighteen years of experiences under their belt, many have lots of stories to share.The Current created this series to shed some light upon the different lives Bruins lead.

From the top to the bottom. This is how it is for a freshman. By entering into a new school, your grade level becomes a derogatory term in some instances. However, it’s not all bad.

Bear River freshmen, such as Levi Van-Patten, said they have enjoyed the experience of a new school.

“It’s pretty good,” Van-Patten said. “It’s a new experience.”

Fellow Freshman Kaiya Hart felt the same using his middle school as a comparison.

“It’s pretty fun,” Hart said. “It’s a lot better than Magnolia. It’s bigger, it’s better.”

Vaughn Hulcy, also a freshman, said that Bear River was a great place to learn.

“Bear River’s a good school,” Hulcy said. “It’s definitely a place where I can learn quite well. The P.E. course is great as well as all our classes. I feel like I’m learning a lot here.”

Most freshmen were not bothered by typical freshman woes such as finding their classes.

“I found my classes fairly easily,” Hulcy said. “But mainly that’s because of the pamphlets we were given with the schedule and the rooms.”

Some students have had family attend Bear River, so such difficulties expectant for a freshman were near to non-existent, as Van-Patten commented about finding his classes.

“No,” Van-Patten said. “I kind of knew the school because all my family has been here for awhile.”

Freshmen are exposed to new experiences when entering into high school, including the different class environment. Some freshman had difficulty pinpointing the teacher that makes class a fun place to be.

“I don’t know,” said Hulcy. “Mr. Bickmore is a good teacher and so is Mr. Nakano.”

Freshman Jackson Smith said that he liked nearly all of his teachers, though he had one or two he wasn’t a fan of. Other freshmen, however, did have a specific teacher in mind that they liked the most.

“I’d say Mr. Bickmore,” Van-Patten said. “Him and I are friends. He’s known the Van Patten’s for a long time.”

Hart said that his favorite teacher was his English teacher.

“Mr. Pisenti,” he said. “Because he’s chill.”

Bear River is a school full of interesting teachers, and some students decided on their most exciting ones.

“Probably Mrs. Jens,” said Hart, “I don’t really like her too much. She’s not bad, but I don’t know – she scares me. Yeah, she’s [an] interesting [teacher].”

Hulcy said that a different teacher won his most interesting award.

“I’d say my most interesting teacher would be Mrs. Knox I think,” he said. “She’s very interesting.”

Smith agreed with Hulcy, but Van-Patten had someone else in mind.

“I’d say Mrs. Andrews,” Van-Patten said. “ … She’s different. She’s like a teacher I’ve never seen.”

Aside from teachers, freshmen also interact with other grade levels. Hulcy said that he got along with the other grade levels well.

“Well, I’ve hung out with a few people above my grade level,” Hulcy said, “I haven’t done too much interaction with them, but I feel like I get along with them.”

Smith used a shorter, more concise answer to describe his interactions with other grades.

“Terrific,” he said. 

The life of a freshman is filled with highs and lows, but Smith seemed to have enjoyed his experience in high school so far.

“Math is the lowest part of my life,” he said. “And everything else is a high.”