Days off can be fun, but snow puts a damper on students’ preparation for finals | Teen Scene

Many Northshore students were ecstatic when school was canceled because of snow on Tuesday, expanding the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend to four days. Neighborhood streets were filled with sledding kids, and snowmen popped up in front yards all across the area. For Bothell High students, the extra day seemed like a gift, allowing them more time to study for the upcoming finals.

By Alexandra Graff • January 20, 2012 4:40 pm

Many Northshore students were ecstatic when school was canceled because of snow on Tuesday, expanding the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend to four days. Neighborhood streets were filled with sledding kids, and snowmen popped up in front yards all across the area. For Bothell High students, the extra day seemed like a gift, allowing them more time to study for the upcoming finals.

 The first-semester finals are scheduled next week, Jan. 24-26. However, worry started to settle in as the snow decided to stick around, and school stayed canceled all throughout the week.

 The week before finals usually serves as an important study time in class, a chance to ask last-minute questions and review with teachers’ help. Many teachers fill the class time with important presentations, last-minute tests or review worksheets.

“The only way I have been inconvenienced by the snow is because finals are next week and this was supposed to be our week to study and to get any help we needed from our teachers,” says Bothell High student Sophia Patton.

 Another Bothell student, Gracen Rubo, expresses similar concerns. “The week before finals is always the most stressful week because there’s so much you have to prepare for and it’s nice to be able to talk with teachers and get some questions answered. We lost that opportunity with the snow days.”

The snow is also not the best study aid. “It’s really hard to focus on studying because all you want to do is go outside or relax and watch a movie,” says Rubo.

 Confusion seems to be setting in among Bothell Students. Rubo e-mailed one of her teachers earlier in the week regarding the many tests scheduled to begin in her class on Tuesday. “I was just confused as to what we were supposed to do,” says Rubo. Some teachers have tried to reconcile the confusion by sending an e-mail announcement to students or by updating their Web sites.

However, this does not address the concern for the final exams scheduled next week. The extra week off is stressful for students and teachers. “It’s hard taking a full week off and then jumping straight into testing,” says Rubo.