School can be a struggle for many students and for others, school is pretty fun but the one thing all students loathe is finals. Finals are massive tests for each class at the end of each semester. Passing a class often depends on how well a student does on the final. Major core classes- math and English- are the most important and the hardest.

“It’s a culmination of everything we’ve learned over the semester,” said senior Sarah Thomas. “It’s very stressful, and I feel like that doing it over two days is quite overwhelming. I would change block scheduling to three days.”

Teachers hand out study guides and hold reviews in class to prepare pupils. On the last Thursday and Friday before winter break, GHS has block scheduling to allow more time for tests. Block scheduling is where only certain periods are held on one day for longer intervals. For instance, the first and third periods are only on Thursday for an hour and a half; second and seventh periods have their turn on Friday. The only classes included on both days are fourth period, which is Homeroom aka Study Hall, and fifth period. 

“I take all my study guides and spend a lot more time on them than I should, which is why I go to bed way later than everyone else,” said senior Kylee Taylor. “I also drink lots of caffeine. Since I have other things like swim, it requires me to put in extra work to get the results I want. Sometimes I don’t start homework until 8 at night because of practice, so it takes commitment.” 

Finals are worth 20 percent of semester grades and can save or crush a class. People study for these big test and take pride in passing them. The best thing for students to do is to keep their stress levels low, eat healthy, sleep well, and have confidence.