‘Tis the season of hot cocoa, warm jackets, Christmas music, and finals. Yes, it’s that time of year again where students fill their bodies with ridiculous amounts of caffeine and spend hours upon hours studying for all of their finals. Although, I’d much rather spend my time watching the snow fall from the sky, I’m busy reading the chapters in a textbook.

However, many students are lucky this year to be exempt from their final exam, because they are passing their class and have missed 3 or less days of school. This new school policy may be a blessing, unless you’re in a dual-credit class.

Like any typical college class, the final counts for a huge portion of the grade. This means certain dual-credit classes will require a final exam for the class itself, even if you’re exempt from your actual final.

New students are most likely confused to how the testing schedule works. Basically, the final week of school, everyone goes to school Monday and Tuesday like a normal day, and finals will begin on Wednesday. 1st, 2nd, and 6th period exams will take place on Dec. 14. 7th, 3rd, and 4/5th period exams will take place on Dec. 15. 8th period, and any retake exams will take place on Dec. 16. Each final takes place over 2 hours, and students are allowed to leave school at 2:50 if they have finished their test on the first 2 days, and they are allowed to leave school after they finish their 8th period test (if they do not have to retake any exam) on the final day.

Finals may be stressful, but they don’t last forever. Try to study a week in advance, to ensure you are prepared for the test. Don’t study the night before! This is an important time to develop and learn new testing strategies that will help you in the future. If you are having trouble understanding a concept, speak with your teacher and get help before the actual exam so you aren’t stressing about it the night before.

Remember, after you take your finals you’ll have a full 2 weeks to recover from them, so enjoy your Christmas break!