C
ongratulations to all seniors for battling senioritis and making it to graduation! We have overcome several trials and tribulations, (such as the AP exams), but we have also enjoyed several events together! Personally, my favorite events from my senior year were Prom and the Senior Trip. When we surveyed the senior class, most felt that their favorite event was the Senior Trip. We thank all the facilitators who put every event together for our enjoyment. To any incoming freshmen, sophomores and juniors reading this, my only advice would be to work hard because every year counts. But also don’t forget to enjoy your high school years. To the incoming seniors, my advice would be to schedule your college meeting with Ms. Aavatsmark as soon as possible! Also, make sure to find time for yourself amidst all the stress you’re about to be put through. However, also remember, that life (hopefully) only gets better from here ! (unless you peak in high school). Good luck !
Yours truly,
Massoki Maka <

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Meanwhile, some staff members shared words of appreciation for seniors:


“Many seniors are in my friend group like Haley, Rocio, Irene, Massoki, Eleena. They are all great friends. When I first came to the dorm, they stopped by my room, helped me unpack and introduced me to the others. Without them I couldn’t have a wonderful school year like this.” - Nhi Le
“The senior class meant family to me because people like Massoki, Rocio, Irene, Haley and many others have had such a great impact on me. They welcomed me with open arms and we formed an unbreakable bond. I will miss them dearly and will never ever forget them. - Rabia Ferron 
“The senior class was very encouraging. An example of this is how encouraging Kylie Schaefer was to the new freshman on the tennis team. She was always encouraging us to do our best and was a great role model. She helped us connect as a team.” - AB Cullen 
“Quiet at first, Massoki Maka seemed serious and a bit scary. I later realized how wrong I was. She was funny and thoughtful. One of the most down to earth people I have ever met.” - Aadeetri Pandey
“The senior class of 2023 is a very talented class in and out of the classroom. Everyone is always giving 100% no matter what they are doing whether it is homework, classwork, quizzes/tests, practicing a sport, playing a game, or even just doing something to help in the community. An example of someone who exemplifies this hard work is Zach Morgan, who was always training and getting better for his teammates and is always pushing through the pain to reach the goal of winning a state championship. The class of 2023 is very amazing and I can’t wait to see what everyone’s future holds for them. They will all be greatly missed by North Cross.” - Tristan Lange 

Recently, the students of Willis Hall have been forced to attend advisory every other Thursday. Prior to this, advisory only took place on ad hoc occasions, like when students needed to choose their subjects and electives for the next year, for example. When we asked the advisory coordinator, Brett Odom, why this change was brought about, Odom said that the impetus of making advisory more common was to build connections between students and between students and advisors. An additional benefit is also a sense of community and bonding. 
When the students of the Willis Hall Herald came together to discuss advisory, they highlighted the following positive attributess about advisory: “Advisors are really kind, and one can share their thoughts and feelings.” Others said, ”The idea of advisory is good.” and “Advisory is pretty fun.” However, there were also negative comments, such as: “It is held too early in the morning,” or “It is boring, not because of my advisor, but because we have nothing to do,” and, “I just don’t like advisory, period.”
A survey that we conducted between April 26-28 yielded the following results:
When asked if students felt that advisory is a safe place to share their feelings, 37.7% of students agreed whereas 39% of students disagreed. 27% were neutral. When asked if students felt that advisory helps students connect with their advisors 56% agree, 23.8% disagreed and 20% were neutral. Lastly, when asked whether the advisory program helps students make connections with other students, 50% disagreed, 33% were neutral and 16% of people agreed.
Some of the advice given by students include: “to make the information more entertaining and have more time so the advisor can really get the point across for the information;” “To not force attendance and to have fun competitive games to make people want to be there and maybe provide some muffins or something;”  “To make it more like a activity period and please not in the morning and also not for seniors;” and “There needs to be less ‘fun’ hands on activities, and more directed social conversations in the advisory room between the students and the teachers. This will provide a sense of trust between the teachers and the students, and will produce more productive and worthy information for the advisees to gather in civilized discussion.”
Some very interesting comments include: “Advisory doesn’t really have a clear ‘purpose’ to me. It just seems like a group meeting but there’s nothing specific about it that stands out to me. We should only have Advisory to choose classes. Seniors do not need to attend and I don’t see the point of Advisory throughout the year because students would rather catch up on work before school or sleep in longer.”
One of the biggest takeaways from this survey is that many Upper School students do not see the purpose of advisory. North Cross should work to see that their students understand the point of advisory and find it to be a necessary tool.
On April 20, our advisory was centered around drinking and driving. Prom was approaching and many juniors and seniors drive themselves. Schools always worry about drinking and driving and need to inform students for general safety. Many students in Willis Hall cannot drive. We question whether its a school’s job to inform students about the dangers of driving under the influence. Most of the Herald staff felt as though it is not the school’s job to inform students about the dangers of driving, because it happens outside of school premises. We believe that it is common sense and should be reinforced by students’ parents.