Nerves are high and excitement is about as Warren Township High School students enter
their first week back at school.

At the O’Plaine campus we have incoming freshmen who are starting their high school
experience, as well as returning sophomores. And over at the Almond campus we are welcoming
juniors as they are transitioning from one campus to another and returning seniors as they finish
up their high school careers.

I had the chance to speak to WTHS teacher Mrs. Rodino over at the Almond campus
about what it was like our first week back at school and what she was excited for this year. I also
got the chance to speak with seniors, Ari O’Neill and Ally Badgley, about their first week back
as seniors and how they are feeling entering their last year of high school.

“So, to be honest. I was not excited about it at all.” Ari O’Neill expressed. “I went in with
a very negative attitude, and was dreading starting the whole process again. Meeting new
teachers, trying to get along with people in my classes…plus I was (and still kind of am) stressed
about the whole application process. But once I started to just embrace my last year of high
school and try to make the most of it, I started to genuinely enjoy myself. There’s a lot of ‘last
firsts’ this year, and I have to make the most of them. I’ve come to realize that all I have to do is
try my best, and that everything will work out. Also, to stop worrying and overthinking so
much. Because once it’s over, I want to look back and have great memories of my time at
Warren.”

Ally Badgley followed up with, “It felt very strange getting back to school because
I still feel like it’s my first year here. The reality of it all hasn’t really set in and I don’t think it
will until I am done submitting my college essays. I’m extremely excited for college but it’s also
bittersweet because I want my senior year to be filled with so many memories.”

Mrs. Rodino, who is a psychology teacher at the Almond campus expressed her
excitement for the 2022-23 school year, “I’m most excited about the students and experiences I
will have with them. One of the most important elements of teaching, for me, is the relationships
I build with my students and having the honor of watching them grow up as learners and people.
I am excited to see how that plays out this year!”

Coming off a two year pandemic, I think it’s safe to say that everyone is ready and
excited to see what Warren Township High School has to offer to its students and staff this year.

And we as a community are ready to make the most of it!!