Important Dates

Belvidere High School's commencement ceremony will take place on Friday, June 18 at 6:30 PM.

        As the end of the school year rolls around, finals come with it. Like midterms, finals happen during a period of one week. Similar to the SATs, finals are stressful and exhausting. Thankfully, this year the week of finals is full of half days. Half days continue until twelve so that when kids go home, they have more time to study for the next day’s exams. The information on finals for most classes is on the second half of the year, or in other words, the third and fourth marking periods. Midterms cover the first half of the year, hence the name.

        Exams start on Tuesday, June 15^th. Belvidere students take their seventh and eighth period exams that day. In other words, whatever classes the student has seventh and eighth periods in a normal school day, those are the exams that he or she takes. On Wednesday, students will then take their first and second period exams. Thursday they take their third and fourth period finals, and lastly, Friday is fifth and sixth period finals. At twelve o’clock on Friday, June 18th, Belvidere High School ends its school year and summer begins. Students pour out the doors relieved that finals are over, and that summer reading begins.

        Midterms are similar to finals, so being nervous isn’t as much of an issue as being prepared. Many students procrastinate and wait to study until the last minute, while others spend weeks studying in advance. Whatever the case, no one knows exactly what their exams will look like.

        The great teachers of Belvidere prepare the students as much as they can. Study guides, review packets and information regarding the particular test are handed out. Games are played and mnemonic devices are thought over in order to make students remember as much information as they can. From the last full day on Monday, teachers have taught everything they can to the students.

        To help myself, I usually study in groups or get my parents to help me. Being a freshman, I want to end my beginning of high school on a good note. Studying becomes a key factor in my daily routine weeks before tests as big as these occur. Hopefully, all this studying will pay off. I am so nervous for my first finals. As an underclassman, it’s really hard to determine what will be on finals and my nerves show when I step into the classroom. Although this year I have learned one thing, and that is as follows:

        Through all the work you do and all of the steps you take leading up to finals or even just a big test, one thing should always come to your mind. My parents always say “All you can do is try your best,” and I am a firm believer in that. As long as students try their hardest, they should be happy with the outcome. So try hard and make taking finals that much easier.