Hello DV students –  you’ve asked and we’ve answered! Thank you for submitting to the Wildcat Tribune’s advice column! We’ve tried our best to answer your questions for this week.

Disclaimer: The advice of the Wildcat Tribune Advice Column is provided by students, for students. While we have your best interests in mind, and we will try our best to help you, we are not expert sources for more serious topics. Our advice is intended to support you and help guide your decisions, but you are in no way obligated to take it. Please email the Tribune if you feel the need to reach out for any kind of help or follow-up for any inquiries. And remember that the form link will always be on our instagram account @wildcat.tribune and on the website!

The Tribune reserves the right to abstain from responding/publishing any submission. Please refrain from explicitly referencing other individuals in your submissions and/or using explicit language, as doing so may warrant the partial or total redaction of your question. We will not tolerate threats directed towards other students, and we will not respond to questions that we determine to be offensive or violent in nature.

Q: How do I separate myself from my toxic best friend even though we carpool?

– slay

A: Hey slay! It can be difficult to distance yourself from someone when you spend so much time with them daily. Try minimizing your interactions with your friend outside of carpooling. If you have other trusted friends, talk to them instead and explain your situation so they can help you manage it.

Sometimes the best solution is to be straightforward: tell your friend that they’re being toxic and you don’t want to spend time with them. Although this might make car rides awkward, you can be honest and quickly shut them down if they start any trouble. Above all, prioritize your own well-being and don’t hurt yourself trying to spare their feelings.

All the best!

– Indra

Q: How do I succeed in high school as a freshman?

– Nini

A: Hi Nini! I hope your freshman year has been going great so far. As far as success goes, each person has their own goals and ideas of things they want to accomplish. Some general advice I have for you is to make the most of every opportunity you get. DV has hundreds of student clubs, a college and career center, multiple sports teams, electives, and tons of opportunities for students to explore their interests. If you’re interested in performing arts, the drama program is a great option. If you play an instrument or sing, we have a choir, band, and orchestra amongst other music programs. Aside from activities, make sure you are understanding what is going on in all your classes. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your teachers for extra help or participate in academic leadership’s peer tutoring program, or even create a study group with your friends. You can also use to-do lists or create schedules to stay organized. 

I hope these tips helped ? good luck!

– Ananya

Q: how do i survive school while taking so many hard classes with difficult teachers?

– Sam

A: Hello Sam! I hope you’re doing amazing! School is a lot of work and pressure for many of us – especially with AP and Honors classes at DV. My answer depends on WHY you find these classes hard.  Is it because you don’t understand the subject? If it is, you can try the various academic support sources that DVHS offers or CSF tutoring where other students are more than happy to help. If your teachers are complicated, the best thing I can tell you to do is to befriend your teachers. Try staying after class and ask them how their day was or whatever it is you feel like talking about – they’re nice I promise! Even though they seem to be tough, they’re also people. You can also try asking them what their standards are for grading so you can make sure to fulfill their expectations when you submit your work. You can go to their Wednesday and Thursday Access periods for help by asking for an Access pass. Finally, take care of your mental health. Your health and sanity are first priority and it’s the only thing that you will take beyond high school. Take care of yourself and I wish you the absolute best in all your classes!

Good luck, 

Shreya Arun 🙂

Q: Advice on Calc AB? I’m sweating through all the tests lmao.

– Sweatygurl

Hello sweatygurl,

Calculus AB is a difficult class and there are many resources available to you if you reach out and ask for it. Some avenues I would recommend are CSF tutoring and potentially b-period tutoring. If you look up DVHS CSF tutors, you can find the link to the CSF page. On that page you can contact CSF tutors that offer Ap calculus help. Follow the instructions on the website and contact them to set up a time/place (probably during access period). Here is the link to the tutor page with their emails. Also, make sure to take advantage of exam jam sessions during finals, if you want extra help!

– Daniel