A Day in the Life: High School Edition

Welcome to our first Day in the Life post for 2021-2022! Today we have a special post from 2021-2022 Freshman Keithan Olson on a typical ‘school’ and ‘home’ day at SLO Classical Academy High School. Once SLOCA students reach high school they are often extremely independent in their schooling, so much so that it’s not their parents writing A Day in the Life anymore, but the students themselves. We hope you enjoy this ‘peek’ into a typical school and home day and if you or anyone else you know is interested in SLO Classical Academy, be sure to check out our Sneak Peek on February 7th at 4:30pm.

For more in our High School series please see:

• A Day in the Life – High School edition: Karena Talley
• A Day in the Life – High School edition: Luke Rossi
• A Day in the Life – High School edition: Carina Womack

SCHOOL DAY (Wednesday 11/10)

6:15 – 7:00 am – I get out of bed usually at 6:30am, but sometimes earlier because of extra schoolwork I have. I grab my headphones and turn on either my country or dance playlist, depending on my mood. I get dressed and help my sister get ready for school. I pack my backpack and double-check I have all the correct books and papers necessary for that day. I also have to remember to pack my basketball gear since the start of practice is this week.

7:00 – 8:00 am – I go to the kitchen to make my lunch for the day, which usually consists of a sandwich, blueberries, and a granola bar. I occasionally eat breakfast before school if I have time, but not very often. I help my other sister feed our horses, goats, and chickens in our backyard and finish getting ready for school. It takes 25-30 minutes to get to school, depending on the traffic, since I live in southern Arroyo Grande.

8:30 – 8:40 am – Once I get to school and walk up to the high school campus, I usually talk with friends and discuss any big projects or tests we have coming up. On Fridays all of our siblings have to be at school an hour earlier than us so we always go down to the lower campus* and hang out down there. As a freshman, I have 5 classes a day and no free periods, so I have to get ready for a hefty day.

8:40 – 9:45 am – Before Geometry class, I drink my mental cup of coffee to prepare myself for the school day. Geometry, taught by Dr. Rein, is usually a pretty calm and fun class, which is convenient in the morning. Today we reviewed chapter 5 which talked about inequalities and triangles. We also went over some of the difficult homework questions assigned from Monday.

9:45 – 10:00 am – We have morning announcements and I meet up with my friends who had zero period**. We talk for a little bit before going into our 2nd class.

10:00 – 11:00 am – Mrs. Giacoletti teaches our History class during my 2nd period. Our theme this year is “Ancient Times”, which most of the classes try to incorporate, but it mostly affects History and English. Today we talk about the Persian ruler “Cyrus the Great” who lived in 562 BCE. We have a class discussion about a primary document about his life and how he ruled.

11:00 – 12:10 pm – I have Spanish next period, taught by Señor Braga. We have a 5 minute break in between all of our classes so you can get from classroom to classroom. However, both my history and Spanish classes are in the same classroom, so we usually just mess around on the blackboard. One time we tried to figure out the length of Russia from a map on the wall using nothing but a ruler and chalk. Other times we write inspirational thoughts which the class always enjoys.

12:10 – 1:10 pm  – Lunch break! Finally! After 3 classes you get pretty exhausted, which makes it perfect for lunch. I do a lot of different things during the break, depending on the day, but most of the time I go down to the lower campus and chat with my friends about completely random ideas. Sometimes I have meetings during lunch, like HLR***, the yearbook team, or a house lunch****. Occasionally a couple of my friends and I walk to Gino’s Pizza for lunch and stop to say hello to Mr. Yorke (our middle school science teacher who left last year). Today I go to the lower campus with some of the basketball team and we scrimmage on the school’s basketball courts. We go back up to the high school before our next class and find almost a third of the students playing duck-duck-goose. Obviously, I join in.

1:10 – 2:15 pm – My next class is English with Mr. McCullough. Our class can sometimes be a little rambunctious so I always sit closest to Mr. McCullough so I can focus on the lesson and not get distracted by the class. To start off the lesson, we listen to one of my classmates recite “Ulysses” by Lord Tennyson. We then discuss poetry and how not to write a poem, since we have to create one ourselves by next week. Thankfully, I wrote mine the day it was assigned, because I love poetry. We go over the 16 “rules” of poetry and read some of Mr. McCullough’s favorite poems to end class. We were going to talk about the Iliad, but we ran out of time.

2:15 – 2:30 pm – Chore time! All the high school students have to do their assigned chores during this break. We always do the same chore each school day. My job is to sweep the pathway between houses 3 and 4.

2:30pm – 3:30 pm – My last class is biology with Mrs. Aguas. Our class only has 7 people and as the last class of the day, all of us are usually pretty tired so we have a pretty chill class. Today, however, we have a big lab with a lot of different stations to test different aspects of cells. Afterwards, we help clean-up all the supplies and put everything away. Once we are done with that, we are dismissed. I have to wait for one of my friends because he is taking me to basketball practice.

3:35 – 5:30 pm – Once I arrive at practice, I change into my jersey and put my basketball shoes on. The coach gives us an inspirational talk about the season and how SLOCA can improve its sports reputation tenfold. We only have 9 boys on the team, which makes it more difficult in games and practices. He has us work hard this practice, and by the end, most of the team can’t stand. The practices help me get in better shape while doing the sport I love most.

5:30 – 8:00 pm – I get home and chill in my room before dinner after a long day of school. I play about 10 games of chess on my computer while listening to my country playlist, since all of my family’s chess skills are lacking. I eat dinner and then we watch an episode of “Survivor” before getting ready for bed.

8:00 – 9:00 pm – I edit my poem that is due the following week and create posters for a beach clean-up I’m trying to organize for the high school. I look at the NBA scores, see the Warriors won another game, and go to bed, content.

HOME DAY (11/11) 

7:30 – 8:30am – I try to sleep in  as best I can on home days, but it never really works out. I wake up, get dressed, and have a nice warm bowl of oatmeal for breakfast. I make an agenda for the homework that day and realize it is quite simple.

8:30 – 10:00am – Both my sisters leave for school and I’m pretty much alone in the house. I begin my geometry homework to get a headstart before the weekend. I read parts of the Iliad that are due and take a quick break.

10:00 – 12:00pm – I spend most of my time writing about yesterday for this blog post. I get all my house chores done, and finish my English homework.

12:00 – 2:00pm – I make myself lunch, which is usually quesadillas and blueberries, but sometimes I will find good leftovers in the depths of our fridge. I play about 10 chess games on my computer and get ready to leave for basketball practice.

2:00 – 3:30pm – My mom drives me to San Luis Obispo to pick up my sister from SLOCA. Afterwards, she takes me to basketball practice and I get warmed up before the rest of the team arrives.

3:30-5:00pm – I am still pretty sore from the first couple practices, but that doesn’t stop me from trying my hardest today. Coach has us work on our offense, defense, and in-ball plays to prepare us for our first game against Orcutt Academy.

5:00 – 7:30pm – My dad picks me up from practice and I quickly change from my jersey to my scout uniform, since I am going to the Elks Lodge for a flag ceremony in Grover Beach. I style my hair with my sweat and I get there and prepare for the service. I help the rest of the troop get organized and the ceremony runs smoothly. Later, we help serve food and listen to the president of the club give a speech about the veterans in the room. We eat our dinner and my friend gives me a ride to our weekly troop meeting in Arroyo Grande.

7:30 – 8:30pm – We arrive at the troop meeting and mostly play games since there were not a lot of people there today. We have a knot tying competition to see who can fasten the most knots the quickest. Afterwards, everyone leaves and I head back home.

8:30 – 10:00pm – I take a shower, brush my teeth, and quickly read 5 pages of the “Odyssey” so I don’t have as much reading for tomorrow. I go to the living room and my family has a debate on what show/movie we should watch before heading to bed.

These are some common days in my life at SLOCA. I highly enjoy every moment here at this school and look forward to the rest of my high school experience. I’ve made some really great friends along the way who have helped me both in and outside of SLOCA.

Thank you for reading my post.

*For those who don’t know SLOCA, the high school campus is across the street from the larger, elementary school campus. We call this the “lower campus”.

**Some students have class earlier in the morning before everyone else starts at 8:40am, this extra class is called “zero period”.

***HLR stands for Hanging Lantern Review. It is a fun, student-led, annually published journal that includes all types of student work such as photography, poetry, art, and stories.

****All the high school students are divided into 4 houses, mainly for social aspects. We sometimes get together outside of school to just have fun. House lunches are when all the houses have their own separate meetings to discuss what activities they might want to do in the future or to just mess around.

Thank you Keithan for giving us a glimpse into a typical day as a Freshman at SLOCA Highschool!