Story By Henna Khan

Video By Sierra Womack

Up until the 2008-2009 school year, midterms were given before students took a two and a half week vacation from school, but ever since, what began as a nice break to end the semester has evolved into an awkward pause for students and teachers.

Wed., Thurs. and Fri. of next week students at CHS will be taking exams covering all the material they have learned since August. While some classes may have finished their learning or the semester before getting out for break, many had to half way through the last unit.

“The two week gap allows a student to forget a lot of material and sometimes we aren’t even done with a unit when it comes time for break,” chemistry teacher Kevin Brimage says. “If finals were before break it would allow for a natural stopping point, similar to how colleges do it, whereas the break is truly a break not just intellectually, but physically as well.”

Although having exams before the break is the ideal situation, given the number of the school days it is not feasible.

“I would much rather prefer for us to have exams before the break,” assistant principle Sean Bagley said. “The district has looked into options, but it is still under planning.”

Making the change to have exams before break would not only be a district level change, but would require the cooperation with surrounding districts such as Lewisville and Carrollton. If only Coppell were to change its way, several teachers like Brimage would run into all sorts of problems.

“Let’s say Coppell and Lewisville had different exam schedules. We had exams after break and they had exams before break. Theoretically, I would be working when my two little kids were out of school and would have to find a babysitter,” Brimage said. “A single district trying to change would be difficult. This type of change needs the support of other districts.”

The seniors this year have had the best of both worlds, however.

“Freshmen year, we had exams before break, and although it was a stressful time, I was happy that I didn’t have to think about it over break,” senior Rachel Lommen said. “Thank God for exemptions though. It feels good to be rewarded after three long years.”

Unfortunately, for now we’re stuck with having to take midterms at an uncomfortable time in the year when we expect to start fresh with a new year. However, what potentially makes things go a little smoother is the schedule itself for next week.

Mon. and Tues. are “dead days” where no new material is given, but students are expected to review the semester’s work during these two days. Wed. is designated for students to take their fourth period final in the morning half of the day and attend their normal classes during the second half of the day. On Thurs.  3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st exams will be given and 5^th, 6^th and 7^th on Fri.

“This being junior year, I already have a lot going on with AP classes and SAT prep, but having exams after the break doesn’t make the load any lighter,” junior Yona Chung said. “I guess this year the studying just isn’t going to end.”