Kick, push, study! Don’t stop now, the end is near! Your mind is weary, your body is exhausted, but your reward will be great if you don’t give up. You’re in the final stretch of your academic semester, and it’s time to bring home all of that information your teachers have been instilling in you for the past seven months. Let your planner understand you are not afraid! Take on any challenge, task, or dilemma thrown at you with confidence. It’s crunch time, Bishop Dunne! Show fourth quarter what you’re made of!

      During first quarter, we struggled to wake up from those lazy summer days, and some of us barely got by. But second quarter inspired us to do better than the last. As third quarter began, our drive, although still strong, slowly became overpowered by anxieties. And now here we are. Back at the fourth quarter mark, where our grades can make or break us. What to do, what to do?

     Here’s a clue…WORK WORK WORK! There’s no time to relax now. Break those lazy bones and put your brain freeze in the microwave! If you have been slacking off for the past three quarters, do not, I repeat, do not quit now! Although the end is rapidly approaching, it is not too late for you to make this last quarter the best it can possibly be.

    Why not, you may ask?  Fourth quarter could substantially “help raise your GPA for the rest of high school,” says Junior Brent Brunson. Remember that colleges look at six semesters’ worth of grades on your transcript! Therefore, we should do everything in our power to put our best foot forward so that our grades will reflect the hard work we’ve been challenging ourselves with this past year.

     To attack fourth quarter head-on,  instead of multitasking while doing school assignments, which for most students include eating, texting, Myspacing, and listening to your iPod all at the same time, try designating a specific time and place for your homework every day. It will not only create a new habit, it could help you understand your courses better.

     Also, don’t bite off more than you can chew. If you know you have Ms. Boarman’s test, Mr. Wilson’s project, and Mrs. Graham’s essay due within the next two days, 1. Don’t wait until the last minute to begin them all, and 2. Don’t try to do all of these assignments in the same night. If you do, the result will likely be stress, anxiety, and a low grade.

     Although the road to senioritis is tempting and may be enjoyable, in the long run, going wild right before the end of the school year is by no means the best route to take.

     Why end the year on a slow, depressing note and create the possibility of taking an online class when you know that all you truly have to do is apply yourself to every task assigned so that you can enjoy your summer as freely as you please?

     Think about it.  Would you prefer cool swimming pools, sweet ice cream, and the excitement of Six Flags or challenging assignments, electronic tests, and no friends to socialize with? Is there even a debate?

     But you say, “I’ve never had study skills! I don’t know how to be studious!” Well, friend, there is no time like the present to learn how to organize your mind and your work space. There’s no time like now to challenge your “inner-nerd” and engage yourself in the world of academia.

And Then There Was One:

By: Cydni Robertson

Biology for Upcoming Freshmen

By: Jessica Cooksy

Mrs. Bove teaching her biology honors class. Picture taken by Jessica Cooksy.

Making the Most of Fourth Quarter

     Viruses, reproduction, plant and animal life—rumor has it that upcoming freshmen will be taking biology next year instead of physics, as the freshmen classes have done in the past. So how does everybody feel about this, and why did the administration make this change?    

     Biology teacher Mrs. Bove stated that she is “excited” because as a teacher she gets to teach a new grade level. Mrs. Bove also stated that the administration has made this change because “biology doesn’t require the math background that chemistry and physics do, which means that in taking biology first, freshmen will have better success in all of their science classes.”

     This means that freshmen will be getting a lot more out of this course by taking it earlier. But how do the current freshmen feel about the incoming freshman class taking biology instead of physics next year?    

     Freshman Hannah Neill states, “I agree with the decision for upcoming freshmen to take biology next year instead of physics because physics is a junior or senior course, and the degree of difficulty is greater than biology. Biology could be very beneficial to freshmen because they all have taken life science in seventh

grade, and taking biology next year will give them more of a feel for what they will be doing instead of piling on a new subject.”

     The eighth grade students seem to be excited too, at least Kevin Gonzalez is, who stated that he feels that taking biology would be more beneficial for him because he thinks biology is more interesting.

    Next year, an excited freshmen class will immerse themselves in the course of biology for a fun new experience for both the students and the teacher.