By SOOJUNG KI
Staff Writer
In an effort to reduce stress among students, the first semester finals will be pushed back an hour each day.
The finals will take place between January 16 and January 18.
“We believe this demonstrates and reinforces in a small way our message of and commitment to balance and doing what we can to alleviate some stress on the students during a stressful time of the year,” Assistant Principal Mr. Matthew Pate said.
Additionally, the order of the periods will also be altered.
On Tuesday, January 16, zero period finals start at 8:00 AM, first period at 10:21 AM and sixth period at 1:02 PM.
On Wednesday, January 17, second period finals start at 9:00 AM, then third period at 11:21 AM.
On Thursday, January 18, fourth period finals start at 9:00 AM and fifth period at 11:21 AM.
“We switch it up a little bit for equity, and this has been at the request of some teachers,” Pate said. “Periods zero and six have to go together because if a teacher has a zero period, they do not have a sixth period and we do not want a teacher to have three finals in one day.”
The discussion of pushing back the time started last spring during Administration Leadership meetings; however a decision came too late to change the time for the 2016-17 spring finals.
“As a new teacher, I think this is really beneficial for [students],” Social Science teacher Mr. Hector Gamboa said. “Think about the consequences of sleep. Students miss out on sleep, especially during finals, so this additional time might give them some time [to slow down].”
Some students do not believe this action will have an effect on their preparation for finals.
“It might help a lot of people who are usually late to first period and do not have a zero [period],” junior Roseanne Yu said. “As for stress relief, a final is still a final, what are [students] going to do in that extra hour, study?”
Other students welcome the change.
“We can sleep earlier then wake up a little earlier to study or just use the time to sleep,” sophomore Afaf Al-Sharif said.
The administration plans on continuing with the new schedule for the foreseeable future.
“I feel like it’s a small thing that we can do that can have a big impact at very little cost,” Pate said.