The first quarter of Baltimore School for the Arts’ (BSA) 2025-26 school year finally came to an end on October 31, relieving students of the many events and assignments that caused stress for them. 

Now that the first quarter is over, grades will be reset for Quarter 2, for the better or the worse. If students are happy with their first quarter grades, there is no worry about maintaining them. However, if they are not satisfied, there are no more chances to improve their first quarter grades. 

Since early decision and early action college applications are typically due around the beginning of November, Quarter 1 was an especially busy time for seniors as they worked on their college essays, received recommendation letters, and spent time on other aspects of the applications. 

“Trying to get applications done while still focusing on classes and homework was extremely stressful,” said senior Alex Bennett. “It felt like at times you had to choose one or the other because of how busy we all were.”

On top of college applications, the seniors took the SAT on October 7. Then, on October 16, the tenth graders had the PSAT10; the week after, the juniors took the PSAT and were expected to attend classes afterwards. Taking the test and having classes that same day was quite tiring.

 “The PSAT, missing assignments… as well as teachers grading [work] at the last minute, and… not seeing grades until the last minute made Quarter 1 stressful,” said junior Frannie Santelises.

On the other hand, junior London Robinson said, “I’d say the stress wasn’t too bad.” However, Robinson continues, “I got really stressed at the end, but I got myself to chill out since it was easier to categorize what I had to do.”

The Latino Student Union also had to prepare for the Hispanic Heritage Month showcase, which took place on October 10 and highlighted Hispanic culture and art.

One of the coordinators of the showcase, senior Alyssa Clymire, said, “Everyone knows that BSA is stressful and a lot to handle… The part of what made the Hispanic Heritage Month Showcase somewhat easy to manage on top of everything else was [that] it was organized. Communication was solid and everyone knew what they needed to do and where they needed to be.” 

Furthermore, there are many performances soon after the end of the first quarter: the Symphonic Wind Ensemble Concert on November 13, Opera Scenes on November 20 and 23, the actors’ senior musical The Prom from November 13 to 22, as well as Nutcracker performances in December with early rehearsals. Students have had significant work to do for these performances. There are many rehearsals requiring students to stay at school until 6 p.m. or later, and students are especially busy with music, dances, and scenes to learn.  

Freshman Connor Welch said, “There has been so much work and an unimaginable amount of studying… Even though the work is a lot, the students are very hard working in their arts… and they are some of the nicest and most relatable people I know.”

As the adults in charge, teachers also had extra work for the beginning of the school year. Spanish teacher Ileana Imhoff says, “You need to prepare for new classes, meet your students and become familiar with their needs, attend PDs [Professional Development days], and complete district trainings. There are also fall observations, SLOs [Student Learning Objectives, goals teachers set for students at the beginning of the school year], recommendation letters for students applying to college, and many other tasks.”

The first quarter of each school year is always an adjustment for most people, and it was an especially busy start for the BSA community this year. However, with the Thanksgiving break from November 26 to 28 approaching, school will likely settle down soon after completing the first quarter.

To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

Featured photo by Asghar Mohmand for The Muse.