Imagine Redwood Middle School as it is now—a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment located in the heart of Saratoga, a suburban and especially safe town.

As almost any freshman will tell you, high school is a daunting experience. Fresh out of middle school they are suddenly faced with a new campus, new classes, new teachers, new people and shockingly, grades that matter. Even though it is a frightening transition, most incoming students are fortunate enough to bring their old friends along, giving them a support network to survive the first few brutal weeks. Imagine being a student without that support system, thrust into a new environment but with the added burden of not knowing anybody there. For quite a few students, this was the harsh reality.

In one's wallet, there are always a few key things to have. Along with the normal charge cards, cash, some kind of identification, a few people may have some useful business cards, phone numbers, and membership cards. I have all of these things in my wallet too. However, I have one more item that is of great importance to me: my trusty, reliable "Will It Lead to Trouble?"card. In times of need, it is supposed to help me make the right choice by asking me questions that can help me decide what is smart.

The Card

The math club has created an outreach program into Redwood Middle School this year, removing the need for Redwood to hire extracurricular math coaches. Students from the high school now run the entire middle school extracurricular math program, with the help of parent volunteers.

When colleges look over a student transcript, admissions officers focus mainly on a student's sophomore, junior and senior years. Although still taken into account by colleges, freshman year is more of a "freebie."

Junior Tim Lycurgus tried to beat the system freshman year by slacking and procrastinating more than he wishes he had; now he knows the error of his ways.

“During freshman year I was just happy to be done with Redwood [and] in high school,” said Lycurgus. “I didn’t really care that much because college was far off and the [freshman] classes were easy.”