Throughout the school year, stress levels vary between quarters. All though everyone has different classes, the most stressful time of the year for everyone would be the second semester. 

The second half of the year is also when students start to get tired from the first half of the year. Students also start to get more tests, quizzes, an homework in order to cover as much content in the class as possible before the school year is over. Thankfully, the student body no longer have the added addition of finals if they have a final grade of an A in each class (excluding APs).

However, students can still easily get stressed, which can heavily affect their grades. 

In order to de-stress, many students will unplug and go on vacation during long weekends or hang out with friends. 

A few other things would be listening to music, drawing, painting, reading, and also doing some self care. For example, going to get your hair done, doing face masks, going to a spa, etc. This can truly help students perform better as a whole and improve test performance. 

When asked about de-stressing sophomore Erin Swan said, “It helps me to escape whatever is stressing me out and after I’m able to really focus on my work and get it done.”

This shows how although it may take away time from your work, it can help you get it done faster as an end result. 

De-stressing can also help teachers in the same way. 

“It’s important to disconnect from time to time with an activity you really enjoy,” said Mr. Fernandez, one of ILS’s English teachers. “Taking the afternoon to exercise or catchup on a show, maybe using Saturday to hit the beach for e few hours or catch a movie. Those things help recharge our batteries, which tend to run a little low during the third quarter especially.”

“It’s the same for all of us, students, teachers, staff, administration,” Mr. Fernandez continued. “We all need to keep in mind our own self-care. For me personally, I enjoy taking the morning on the weekends to relax and drink coffee, read, just take things slower because during the week it’s go-go-go from the second that alarm rings.”

Hopefully, this article is of some use to those in the student body who are having a tough second semester.