One of Sentinel’s most loved traditions is writing a letter to your grade 12 self. Every year, grade 8 students write a letter to their grade 12 selves in their English 8 class at the beginning of the year. Then, each student puts their letter into a Sentinel Secondary envelope, seals it, and the letters are kept away in a box for 5 years. In the past two weeks, all of the grade 12 students, the class of 2020, received the letters they had written, and the grade 8 students, the class of 2024 wrote their letters.
In these letters, grade 8 students reflect on their current life and imagine who they will be in grade 12. Many students summarize their life currently– what high school is like, who their friends are, what they like to do, etc. They write down both their current struggles and their hopes and dreams for the future. Many students also ask themselves questions about their goals, hobbies and relationships. Writing these letters is an important activity for all grade 8 students; it provides an opportunity to reflect on who they are and what their life is right now, and who they hope to be and what they imagine their life to be in the future. For grade 12 students, receiving the letter they wrote to themselves in grade 8 is nostalgic and reflective. It’s a chance to reflect upon and answer those questions they had asked themselves five years ago and compare who they were in grade 8 with who they are in grade 12. Often, reading the letter invokes both pride and nostalgia, pride of who they have become five years later and nostalgia for the happy memories of being in grade 8. The five years’ students spend at Sentinel are defining times. Writing the letter to their future selves enables Sentinel students to have a tangible record of who they were in grade 8 and then open it and see how much they have changed over their high school journey.
The Sentinel Sun talked to grade 8 and grade 12 students - we asked grade 8 students for their thoughts on Sentinel so far and we asked grade 12 students about the one thing they wish they had known in grade 8. Below are the grade 8 and grade 12 responses:
Grade 8 – Comments on grade 8 experience at Sentinel
“I like playing on the school volleyball team” – Hannah
“Cafeteria food is really good but I can’t call anyone because of the cell reception!” – Charlie
“I like the clubs, I’m in the STEM club and health sciences!” – Saman
“I like the FIT block” – Beatrice
“I like playing on the school volleyball team!” – Mave
“Sports teams are fun!” –Ally
“The teachers are really nice” – Alyssa
Grade 12 – What’s one thing you wish you knew in grade 8?
“Get involved with the school clubs and build connections so you can have more leadership opportunities in higher grades.”– Niki
“Your grades don’t matter until grade 11 and that taking notes in color and effort makes studying so much better!” - Paniz
“I wish I knew how important taking notes in class was. Also it’s better to have less friends that are trustworthy than to have more friends who are not” – Doreen
“Don’t be too caught up with grades and enjoy your life” – Christine
“Start thinking about university ahead of time, not worry about it, but start thinking about it ahead so you can match your extracurricular activities with your future endeavours” – Bahar
“Have some banter with your teachers. Class will be more fun that way and they’ll be more lenient with you as well. Trust.” – Victor
“Don’t stress too much about grades and just enjoy your high school life – get involved in sports and clubs! There will be time to stress about school later (ie. grade 11 and 12)” – Emmajean
“Join as many different sports teams and clubs and really get involved in school activities. This is how I met some of my closest friends” - Grace
“Make sure to have fun but not at the expense of your grades. If you develop good work habits in grade 8 and 9, you’ll be more prepared for the more rigorous grades. It’ll pay off in the long run. Seriously.” - Kian
The grade 8 students, the class of 2024, just wrote their letters to their future selves, and the grade 12 students, the class of 2020, just opened theirs. Writing a letter to your future self is one of the most important activities and a special keepsake that unites all Sentinel students.
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