Tension sure seems to build during the third marking period here at State High. The additional school work, the weather changing, and the substantial amount of time spent with school mates, makes teachers and students especially irritable. I have experienced people being angry first hand with teachers, coaches, and definitely friends––you know who you are. But apparently it’s not just me who has noticed the change in attitude around the same time every year. Students and faculty have also noticed this saltiness during the Spring that causes so many problems.

It’s a well known fact that the third marking period is one of the hardest; especially for juniors. With SATs and ACTs right around the corner, 11th graders can start to feel very overwhelmed. Junior Katelyn Sullivan said, “There are lots of projects and assignments that seems to be pressing into my schedule this year. And all of my teachers seem to feel this pressure to.” The social and academic messiness during the Spring affects both upper and lower classmen. “The third marking period is definitely the hardest––I know for sure that the teachers really pile on the work,” said sophomore Owen Moore.

Even the freshman class has noticed a serious increase in school work, “I think it totally has to do with the stress of standardized testing and grades are getting closer to being finalized, so tension would naturally just become higher,” freshman Rayna Jones said. With Keystones coming up and the freshman class trying to start off their high school careers with high GPAs, they have been known to be especially irritable.

Colton Yoxtheimer said, “Everyone gets really tired of school so they take in out on each other.” I spend more time with people I’m not even friends with than I do with my own family. So by the end of the year I get especially tired of seeing these same people. Josie Vidic said, “By the end of the year everyone gets really sick of each other because we have to see each other so often. So everyone starts to get really mean. Even to their closest friends.” Nobody wants to spend 3 hours a day with someone they don’t even know! But we have to! We’re all  just here trying to get an education.

As the heat rises and Spring weather pulls cruel tricks on us, these next two months are going to seem especially horrible. But please don’t take out your frustration on other people. We are all in this together. Don’t make it any worse than it has to be. June 14th will be here soon enough. Be nice to your friends, family, and teachers. Be nice to everyone. You want people to hang out with this Summer… right?

Number of Break Days this Year:

April – June: 4 Days

December – March: 15 Days

Number of days you have keep being nice to other people: ∞