With the first marking period having just come to a close on Thursday, November 1, some students are optimistic that it’s one step closer to the end of this school year. Yet on the flip side, many other others will pessimistically note that it is just the beginning of a long year. With many students having needed to cram and hurry to turn in unfinished work, the end of the marking period was not a happy deadline for them.

Even some of the freshmen felt a bit of the academic pressure just after entering high school. “I did not feel good about the marking period ending, although it was better than past years. I’m happy with the majority of my grades. I just don’t enjoy how so many teachers put nearly all of their tests right near the end of the marking period. However, I am glad to be done with the first marking period.  I have a fresh start, and hopefully it’ll get better from here on out, especially since now I know what I need to expect and what I need to focus on, ” freshman Aubrey Chilton said.

In a different perspective, freshman Serena Duncan felt a lot more academic pressure than previous years, although she was still able to adjust relatively easily. “I’m not sure about how I felt about the marking period ending. On the one hand, it was nice because the school year is now a quarter way over. But on the other hand, school is probably going to get harder as the year goes on. My school year started off well I think as I didn’t have too much trouble adjusting to high school life and an increased homework load. Compared with past years though, this year was a lot harder because I am in harder classes and I had a much busier schedule and more homework,” Duncan said.

Nevertheless, when thinking of academic pressure in high school, most automatically think of junior year, which many high school alumni label to be the year in which they ‘nearly die.’ However, when asked how she felt about the marking period ending, junior Krista Chen took a more relaxed approach compared to some others, and said, “I feel great about it. I’m really looking forward to ending this year. It means that I’m one step closer to going to college. I didn’t do too well in terms of academics this marking period, but I’ll accept my grades. In one word, I’d say that this marking period was fresh.”

Junior Nathan Lusk agreed, and said, “I feel satisfied with the marking period ending, but also kind of discouraged that there’s still three more left. The school year started pretty well since my grades are good and my athletics are going well. I’m glad that the marking period is ending though because I’m just glad to get grades finalized.”

Whether you’re happy or not that the 1st marking period has ended, at the very least, we now have a fresh start with the second marking period. Until then, here are some no-school dates to look forward to for relaxing until the next marking period:

November 21-26: Thanksgiving Break

December 24-January 1: Winter Break

January 18: Second Marking Period Ends

Best of luck in this new marking period, and make it the best one yet!