The End is Near

I guess that's kind of an ominous title to a blog entry! Actually, I am referring to the end of the first semester and the calendar year! This is our first attempt at putting together a school calendar that has the first semester end before Winter Break. We knew that once it came to semester tests, weather was going to be an concern, and thus we have kept our fingers crossed that we would not lose a day in this last week. As I write this, we have a late start today, forcing us to shorten up the testing periods. Not what we had hoped, but it could have been worse. The lesson learned is that we may want to make a few adjustments in the schedule next year to be in better shape in case we do have a late start.

While this is the first year for this calendar at North Fayette, I have worked with one like it for a number of years. What I do know is that December feels very stressed, but once we finish and everyone goes on break, it is over. There is a huge relief because we don't have to come back and finish up a semester. And, students will perform better on exams rather than getting away from school for two weeks and then be expected to prep for a big test. People are refreshed after the break and once they get back, it is nice to start a new semester.

So, the end is near! And the beauty of this is that in just a couple of weeks, we have a new beginning!