It’s that time of year again, known to be some of the most exhausting, grueling, and demanding times of the school year; frightening finals week. In high schools, final exams are usually given to students in core classes like Math, Science, and English. Katalyne Hean, a Sophomore student at Palisade says, “Personally for me the most stressful thing about finals week this year is AP Statistics. My final is coming up in that class and it is worth a lot of points which could change my overall grade in the class easily.” Finals are a crucial part of high school because they have the ability to make or break the grade as well as the overall GPA. However, the preparation for finals week is an opportunity to understand yourself as a learner concerning how you study and grasp the material best. When reflecting on Hean’s experience with finals week last year she states, “Honestly, last year I don’t remember it being that stressful and I just remember being happy to get it over with. It wasn’t as stressful as I thought it would be but that also may have been because I was just a Freshman.” In general, Freshman year is a stressful and confusing year because entering a new school with new procedures and expectations can be very overwhelming. Although Freshmen might not have as much pressure to succeed with hard material as upperclassmen do, the confusion and distress can be just as taxing. Hean comments, “Advice I would give to Freshmen or anyone new at Palisade going into finals week is, especially if you’re not in pre-IB or IB, you’ll be just fine. If you study hard, work hard, stay passionate, and lean on the support of family and friends, you’ll be just fine.” Finals week officially starts next week for most students and we wish all who are taking them, the best of luck!