It is finally near the end of the 2022-2023 school year and students are excited while also stressing for the last exams of the school year. AP testing, finals week, and quizzes still block the road to the final days of school. However, the hype is starting to build up as fun, end of the year activities are coming soon, seniors are prepping for their final days here at Ayala, and everyone else is prepping to leave this year of school behind. Emotions can vary, but how do people handle knowing school is going to end in less than a month? Teachers and students alike are ecstatic, but are people really excited for their next summer chapter?

“I get prepared by mainly listening to music. It’s a big thing for me as well,” Gabe Contreras (9) said. “Overall, you got to take it one day at a time.”

With the last day of school being May 25, 2023, classes are starting to get to their final lessons and teachers are now preparing students for finals week. Students first have to get through two more week of regularly scheduled classes and one more week of block schedule. It seems like it’s so far away, but it’ll be here before we know it. Preparing for this step is something that we all have dreaded since returning from spring break forever ago. Students are starting to take action by devising plans to get ready for upcoming quizzes, end of year projects, and last tests.

Emotional preparation is the biggest and most important part of prepping for the end of the year. Not only is being emotionally ready for finals and AP testing very important, but also prepping for the fact that school will end soon. Students, no matter the grade, each have their own type of worry that can cause stress and anxiety on them.

Homework, studying for tests, and even extracurricular activities can cause unneeded stress to a student’s life. The best ways to be emotionally sound and ready for this month is to remember deep breathing, to eat enough food, and drink plenty of water and to get good sleep. For academics, it’s important to split up work properly, to not procrastinate important work, to take proper time for education, and to talk to your teachers if any questions arise.

“A big thing for me was talking to people older than me, like people who have gone through college. They were close to my family so they were available to hear my struggles and questions, so I’d recommend talking to people for help,” Henry Egge (12) said. 

Not only are students getting ready for this school year to end, but teachers as well are getting in the right mindset. The stress of upcoming testing, getting grades in, and still having to worry about teaching until the end can cause some rough and sleepless nights for teachers bombarded by work.

“Students want their grades to be as high as possible and we want to support them in that. [Teachers] gotta catch up on grading and late work, but we do our very best to get it all done,” 9th Grade English teacher Mrs. Robin Yim said.

We never thought we’d get to the end of the school year, but now we are inching closer and closer as the days go by. Before we know it, we will be signing yearbooks and saying bye to friends we have made throughout this year. However, it is important to remember to take the proper steps toward ending the year off right and strong. We are now weeks away from good times with friends, summer fun, and importantly no school. To avoid spending your summer at summer school, take the last month of school seriously, get lots of sleep, and end this year with a bang!