On both January 27th and 28th, you may see many students walking around the school with books and cups of coffee in their hands. Those are the days that first semester finals will be held on. Some of you may be confused. Finals were originally scheduled to be on the 23rd and 24th, but because of the snow days on January 2nd and 3rd, finals were moved. Finals count for 20% of your final grade in each class.  On the days of finals, there is a lunch break where the cafeteria is open and selling food and coffee in between your two finals. You also have half-hour study periods before each of your finals. Some teachers will start their finals during this time if the class agrees to it, so they have more time to work on the actual final.

Finals can be both a stressful and happy time for many students. Finals are happy because if you do not like the classes that you have during that semester, you are done with them. They are stressful because you have to review everything you’ve learned this semester. But if you study the right way and work hard, you will do well. Seniors have an incentive with their finals. If you get at least an 89.5 in the class, you do not have to take the final. This helps to push the seniors to not just go on their “senior slide” and actually try in their classes. Math teacher, Mrs. Whitman, agrees with this rule, because it helps the seniors to work hard even after they are accepted to college.

When thinking about finals, I decided that I would ask how students studied and how teachers felt the students should study for their final. I first talked to Sophomore, Kerrie Janvrin. I asked her how she planned to study for the finals that she had to take. “I will probably look over my notes and read over my tests.” From a teacher’s perspective, I went to Mrs. Whitman. She said that the best way to study for a final is to look over your old tests as well as the notes and projects you have done in the class.

After talking to Mrs. Whitman and Kerrie, I decided to go look around and see what some people online have said about studying for finals. All of the sites said the same thing. When studying for finals you should get a good night sleep, review notes, and eat a healthy breakfast. One suggestion that really stuck out to me was studying in proportions. Let’s face it, we have all done the cramming until midnight right before that big final, but that’s what these sites are advising against. When you cram for a final in one day, you don’t retain any of the information. Also, those cram sessions are usually very long and go into all hours of the night causing you to become run down and tired.

Overall, when you think about it, finals can be a very stressful time for students. Whether you are a freshman, taking your finals for the first time ever and not knowing what to expect, or you are a senior who has to take one final. The pressure is on to show what you learned during the semester. If you study and use your time wisely, you will do well on your finals.