For most students, August 2025 was just a start to another year of high school, but for others, it’s an adjustment to a completely new environment. There were 31 new high school students at the beginning of the school year, not counting the freshman class.
Why Warsaw? Students from Urbana, Peculiar, and even Clayton (near St.Louis), chose to come to the small town of Warsaw. They either have family here, always wanted to move here for the community, or even to find a safer town for their family.
“I didn’t like Skyline and always wanted to move to Warsaw for the community,” freshman Weston Hyder said.
We know why they came here, but I wanted to see how their experience is so far.
Moving to a new school and starting all over can be scary or even overwhelming. Some new students were most concerned with meeting new people. Isabella moves from St.Louis which is a bigger town than Warsaw.
“Not knowing my way around, not knowing who to sit with, and not knowing people,” freshman Isabella O’Leary said.
After they got used to the school, they all felt the same way – They liked how easy it was to find their way around and loved the community.
Some didn’t move far, while others moved over four hours away. Either way it was a big change. Not just because it’s a new town, but a whole new community – new friends, new classes, new teams, and a new way of living.
“It’s small down here, not as many people,” sophomore Aidan Wage said. He moved from Peculiar, which is not as small as Warsaw.
The majority of new students like the water, community, sports, and how small the town is.
“It is small and very honest,” O’Leary said.
Students who moved into the district had the biggest changes, but a whole class of students that just moved up to high school this year. Freshmen also had to adapt into high school and faced many changes.
“You have more freedom,” freshman Jett Fluty said. Fluty has been going to Warsaw his whole life, while his mom teaches here in Warsaw.
High school is more independent, but coming into high school means new clubs, sports and opportunities. Freshman said coming into high school is very overwhelming and challenging to keep up with, but there are many things to be excited about. When asked about his favorite thing about high school so far, Fluty claimed it was football.
“Each grade has its unique challenges, but ninth grade students often struggle the most. I have not had too many come and talk with me about transition struggles, but all the staff at WHS work hard to make this transition as smooth as possible. So time will tell, but I am feeling good about the transitions that have taken place this year,” counselor Tyler Richardson said.
He encourages first year students to get involved in any organizations, clubs, or sports. He thinks it’s a great way to connect.
