A Day in the Life of a Holston Academy Student: Bella
Student: Bella
Grade: 9
Hobbies: Field hockey, swimming, playing the piano and songwriting, volunteering with her girl scout troop
Location: Boston, MA
Why Holston
Bella is a 9th grader who was homeschooled along with her three siblings until she finished middle school. Her parents decided they wanted her to attend an accredited school that would give her access to a wide selection of courses, teacher support, and assist her in her pursuit of college and her future goals. They chose to enroll Bella in an online private school for the flexibility it affords their family so she can continue to pursue family activities with her younger siblings still homeschooling.
Bella’s Courses
As a 9th grader, Bella has chosen to take Honors Biology, Algebra 1, AP European History, Creative Writing, Psychology, and French 2. She’s excited to take Creative Writing since she has developed a love for songwriting and believes this will help her hone her songwriting skills.
Bella’s Academic Coach has worked with her since she came to Holston Academy in 7th grade, and over the past two years she’s excelled in her courses and decided on a career path of attending college to become a Forensic Psychologist after high school. Her Academic Coach has helped her build her Academic Plan for high school to include courses that will not only challenge her, but also put her on the best path to being fully prepared for the college major she wants to pursue. She meets with her Academic Coach biweekly to review her Personalized Learning Plan and reaches out to her teachers as needed to set up time to review concepts she is struggling with in her courses. Bella is an independent learner who enjoys managing her course schedule and maintaining strong relationships with her Education Team.
A Typical Day for Bella:
8:00 am
Most mornings, Bella wakes up and eats breakfast with her family. After breakfast, she takes a shower and gets dressed for the day. Her siblings are homeschooled by her mom, and they typically do their schoolwork from the kitchen table each day. Bella and her dad, who works from home as an accountant, share the home office where they each have their own desk. Bella also has a reading corner in the room to give her some variety in her learning environment if she wants to move around or spend some time away from her desk.
9:00 am
She starts each day with an hour of Math before tackling AP European History for the second hour followed by French 2.
12:00 pm
Bella takes a break after completing three hours of coursework to have lunch with her family.
1:00 pm
Bella jumps back into her courses beginning with Creative Writing for the next hour. She finishes the school day with an hour of Psychology.
3:00 pm
Between Bella and her two siblings, someone always has a sport or hobby they need to be driven to. On Mondays and Wednesdays, Bella practices with the local field hockey club team from 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm.
6:00 pm
Bella’s family sits down each evening to have dinner together and reflect on their day. On Tuesday nights after dinner, Bella has her girl scout troop meetings. Other evenings, she enjoys practicing the piano and working on her songwriting.
Usually on Fridays, Bella will join her mom and siblings for local field trips and other educational activities that take them out into the community.
Why did you make the switch to online school?
“I loved being homeschooled by my mom, but she and my dad agreed that if I wanted to pursue college and a career in Forensic Psychology, I needed to find a school that would help support me in those aspirations. I love attending an online private school because in a lot of ways it still feels like homeschooling because I’m still able to be home with my family, but I have a great team of teachers and my Academic Coach who are all supporting my learning and academic growth. It’s the best of both worlds for me!”
How does online school help you achieve your goals?
“My Academic Coach was so excited to hear I wanted to pursue Forensic Psychology after high school. He helped me develop an Academic Plan for my 4 years of high school, and together we have been researching the best colleges for me to apply to. When the time comes, he’ll help me with my college essay and applications, which I’m so excited for! I love that I’m able to take more challenging courses in History and Science so I can really push myself in those subjects.”