As the school year has reached its six week mark, students were either stressed or excited to see how well they have done within these past few weeks. Last Friday’s end of the six week grading period has brought up mixed emotions as the progress reports get sent home. 

At the end of each six week grading period, students have their grades finalized to send home to parents. These grades tell students whether they are on the right track, or need to make improvements toward their study habits. For some students, this might be stressful given the fact that few assignments have been put in. For others, these first six weeks might have flown by and been easier than they may have previously thought. 

“It was only hard in APHUG [AP Human Geography], but all the other classes were really easy and it was less than I expected,” freshman Caleb Lim said. “It was just projects and presentations so it wasn’t that hard.” 

For freshmen, this is their first year in high school and it might bring new experiences to the more intimidating school system of Ayala. Although high school is not different from junior high in terms of having six different classes, high school is a new transition and experience that may take some getting used to. 

As for sophomores, juniors, and seniors, these first six weeks may have been harder than they were expecting. In terms of workload and expectations, there are more challenges each year as college gets closer.

“The workload was more than I thought, but it was not difficult,” sophomore Class President Jeremiah Park said. “One of my biggest worries this year was doing worse than my freshman year and I’m not doing as good as freshman year, but it’s still at a manageable level. I plan to manage my time more effectively.”

With this just being the beginning of the school year, students have already gotten a glimpse of how the rest of the school year may be. Whether that means putting more effort or continuing the habits they developed in these first few weeks, the school year can only get more challenging from here. 

“I know students are always worried or concerned about grades, but that’s why I keep telling them it’s about learning. And so, again, the six weeks is just an update,” AP European History and World History teacher Mr. Kenny Donovan said. “It’s just like having a football game or something. This so you can see how it’s going. That’s why you practice, and then the game will let you know if what you’re doing when you’re practicing is working.” 

Although these were just the first six weeks of school, teachers are already starting to close the leeway given for the adjustment to the new school year. It’s important that students are continuing to put in the effort and hard work when the next grading period comes around. 

“It’s just hard in six weeks, because most likely, you’re only going to have one assessment or one test and at that time you would have wrapped up one unit… it’s just that, it’s all about the learning,” said Mr. Donovan.