The year before the last year of high school is a pretty big deal. For the students in their junior year at Lafayette High School, preparing before college starts. Most likely, they finished most of the classes they have to take, so next year, as seniors, they’ll have more choices about what they want to learn. This is an advantage they should take because they can start to pay attention to the subjects they like or that will help them get ready for college.

Although it’s not all fun and games. Juniors have to focus on getting good grades and maybe joining more clubs to look good for college; they will see that the student is involved in clubs and see that they want to be part of a community, like the National Honor Society. It is a program that recognizes academic excellence and honors the highest-achieving high school student. In addition, one thing that happened for some was the National Honor Society (NHS) Induction Ceremony, where all new members were inducted into the NHS.

One thing that juniors could be looking forward to is the activities seniors do, such as senior sunrise and sunset, decision day, senior skip day, and many more. They could look forward to these events because they get opportunities to spend time with their friends but not during school.

Then there was also the annual DanceBlue, a huge party that everyone in the school could attend. It was an important event because it was a fundraiser for Kentucky Children’s Hematology and Oncology clinics. At this event, they dance and have fun with their friends for a total of six whole hours. This year, they learned all the dances in the first hour. Then at each house, they would do all the dances. There were a lot of snacks and drinks for everyone, even the teachers.

Junior, Mady Dinh, shared their thoughts on how next year is their last Dance Blue at Lafayette High School. “I’m kinda sad that next year will be my last Dance Blue, especially since I‘m looking to go to college out of the state, so they likely won’t have any kind of fundraising like this happening there. Junior year has been great cause I’ll be sad I can’t be directly a part of it after I graduate.”
When kids start high school as freshmen, they don't have to take important statewide tests like the Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA). The KSA test usually covers Reading, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Writing. Not having these big tests in freshman year is pretty different from what comes next. When students become sophomores, they face a lot more. They'll take the KSA, plus other major tests like the American College Testing (ACT) and the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT), and for those who take any Advanced Placement (AP) classes they have to take the AP test which is harder than the regular course they would take if they weren’t taking AP. Also having big final exams that are much harder than anything they did in freshman year. Lyla Welch, a junior, told The Times how she feels about all these tests "I don't think that they are necessary, it only gives up exemptions."
Overall, juniors at Lafayette have much to look forward to as they enter their senior year. They will have many exciting opportunities like prom, graduation, and more. It's a time to make memories with friends and enjoy their last year in high school. It will most definitely be an eventful year for these students, filled with challenges and fun activities that they will remember for a long time. They also have to remember that college is a whole different level and they won’t have teachers reminding them all the time about their assignment. They will have to remember this on their own and remember the responsibility they have.