One big difference is transportation. In the United States, most students travel to and from school on a school bus. If a school does not have a bus system, it is usually because the school is in a city and students can easily walk to the building. Students as young as kindergarten and as old as 12th grade ride the bus, but often not together.
Elementary School
This is the level of school for the youngest students. In my district, students ages 5 through 10 attended elementary school, or grades 1 through 4 (and also kindergarten). A yearly event hosted by most elementary schools is called Field Day. This is an entire day, typically in the spring, when the students are divided into teams by class and compete in athletic events and games outside.
Many elementary schools have an outdoor space for students to play during recess. Recess is a time of the day, typically after lunch, when students are given a break to play outside if the weather is nice. This is a picture of me (in the green jacket) and some friends on our school's playground.
Middle School/Junior High
This level of school is for students in 5th grade through 8th grade, usually ages 10 through 14.
Many students begin to join athletic teams in middle school.For example, I played softball, soccer, and basketball when I was in elementary school. However, soccer was my favorite sport and the only one I continued to play as a high school student.
In middle school, many students also begin to learn musical instruments and play in the school concert band or symphany.
In the United States, high school is mandatory for 4 years. Students are usually ages 14 through 18 and in grades 9 through 12. American schools often refer to these grades in the following terms: freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior.
Athletics in American high schools are very popular among students as well as the community. Football is a sport played in the fall, and the most significant game is called the homecoming game. This game is usually a match against the school's rival school. High school football is played on Friday nights, and on the Saturday following the homecoming game most schools host an important formal dance for the students, called the Homecoming Dance. Formal dances are a popular tradition in schools in the United States. Students wear expensive formal attire and usually invite each other to be a "date" for the dance. Here is a picture of me and my friends before going to the Homecoming Dance as freshmen.
Another important event in many American high schools is a spring musical. Preparations for this event usually begin after winter break. Students and faculty decide on a musical, audition for roles, design a set, and rehearse after school for many months in advance. My school had an excellent theater department, so our spring musical was usually a popular annual event.
Here you can see students working on building and painting the sets themselves.
Students also sew most of the costumes themselves! Sometimes a costume can take hours to make. For large dance scenes, many of the same costumes are required for performers.
Here are students choreographing and rehearsing a dance for the spring musical. In my high school, dancing was very popular. All of our spring musicals had large dance scenes.
Students were also responsible for lighting and sound in the theater. During my junior and senior year of high school, I was the lighting director for the spring musical. As the lighting director, I controlled all of the lights during the show!
I was also the student producer, which meant that I was responsible for creating the program booklet and marketing the event to the community. I also had to coordinate all of the students and faculty involved in the spring musical. This included the school's concert band, which performed all of the songs live (without a recording).
When the students and faculty work together, schools can perform incredible spring musicals! They are very fun to participate in, but require a lot of time after class to prepare and rehearse.
As the school year ends, high school students who are graduating have many exciting events to look forward to. One event is Prom, another formal dance hosted by the school at the end of the year. It is usually a dance celebrating the graduating students. At my school, only graduating senior students were allowed to attend prom unless they chose to invite a younger student. As a junior, I was invited to attend prom by a senior. It was a fun experience.
During my own senior Prom, I attended with my best friend James as my date, and we had fun together with a large group of friends.
Graduating seniors also attend an event called Senior Banquet towards the end of the year. This is a formal dinner and reception for senior students only during which students receive awards for achievements throughout the year.
Some teachers will host small gatherings for their students that are graduating. My senior year, my English year invited our class to a nearby park for a picnic. It was a great way to celebrate our graduation and to spend time together before leaving for college.
Here are a few pictures from the picnic. These are real American high school students, just having fun together.
And finally, there is graduation! For many students, it can feel like a relief to be finished with school. Some students go to college after graduating, others get jobs right away. However, many students remember their high school lives as a fun time with their classmates.
