Nihil's post points out the RIGHT way to do things, and is good (wonderful?) advice for anyone looking to get into exploring systems.

In addations to the two Windows OS's mentioned, you could also follow the same route using Linux (any of them would be a good start) but you'd loose the "Microsoft Infection Experience" lol.

But do yourself a favor and DONT attempt to hack while at school, without premission of the Admins. Read Nihil's post, read it again, make a list of what you need, and DO it.