A new school year calls for a reflection of one’s behavior and habits. The purpose of preschool is to learn how to get along with classmates, share, respect each other and speak politely using the “magic words” that students often forget in high school. All of the tools taught in preschool make up the etiquette, the social code of behavior, that one still uses later in life.

Etiquette is key for a successful school year.

Crowded hallways are a problem at the Academy, but even more so this school year. Students loiter in the walkways or stop in the middle of the halls to talk with friends, which makes it extremely difficult for others to get through.

Students should be respectful and aware of others around them. It is courteous to move to the side where one is out of the way to allow others to pass. In order to clear up the congested hallways after the bell, students should quickly retrieve what they need from their lockers and clear the area because other students need to have access to their lockers.

Another behavior that shows a lack of respect for others is going into others’ belongings. Students who go through friends’ pencil bags, lockers or back packs lack respect. Going through a person’s private property whether it be a school bag or pencil case is an invasion of privacy. It is overstepping one’s boundaries.

One may think that although she is friends with someone, it is okay to dig through her bag without permission, but the same rules of etiquette apply in this situation.

If one needs to borrow a pen, for example, she should ask its owner. One should be aware that even if she asks to borrow something, it does not necessarily mean she can.

Students who do not have something to eat during school or do not have school supplies often resort to leeching off their friends. It is understandable for the student who forgets every so often but not in the case of the student who continuously uses others.

Students should come to school prepared. The continuous borrower should understand the effects that lending has on the student who always provides food or school supplies. These items that students give away are paid for by their parents, who think that the school supplies they buy are being put to use by their child. Etiquette in this case is like the saying “do not overstay your welcome.”

Changing small habits like these and using daily etiquette will improve relationships between students as it re-enforces respect and courtesy.