As the first semester comes to a close, it’s normally the most hectic time in the school year. Do I want to switch classes? Hours? Teachers? Students frantically scramble into Student Services, hoping to get five minutes with their counselors to adjust their schedule. The yearly swarm signifies the end of the first semester. As inboxes flood and deadlines draw nearer, some students may still have questions about scheduling changes.

Counselor Doug Farmer says that the counseling team can not accommodate switching hours, switching to a friend class, or moving the lunch schedule. Schedule adjustments cannot be made after the first week of the semester (February 2nd).

Stress runs high towards the end of the semester due to tests, projects, getting grades up, and switching classes. But how did students feel about the first semester of the 2023-2024 school year overall? 

“It had a lot of ups and downs, and there were a lot of project-based tests which I liked. I also felt like it went by pretty fast,” sophomore Anika Patel said.

Freshman Katelynn Egli has similar thoughts as Patel, on the semester coming to a close faster than expected. 

“I thought the first semester was great! It went fast especially towards the end.” 

There is always room to improve during school and the next semester of the year is a great place to do it. 

“For next semester, I’m planning on studying for tests ahead of time instead of the night before so it’s less stressful,” sophomore Samantha Zhu said. 

When going into new classes, students don’t know how hard they will be or how much work they may get, so performing to the best of your ability is something to be proud of. 

“I was pretty proud of how I did this semester and how the things I thought I wouldn’t be able to understand at the beginning of some units I now understand easily,” Patel said. 

It’s good to have a plan for the new semester dealing with study methods or what classes you need to focus on.

“Other than history, I think I did pretty well and got my homework done on time,” Egil says.

“Next semester I will focus more on history so I don’t have to worry about getting my grade up.” 

Many students have similar schedules in both semesters which helps control the amount of work on the counseling staff. Even though hour changes aren’t possible, you are still allowed to switch a teacher for the same hour, or switch a class in general. 

“For the next semester, I’m hoping to switch one of my hours to a different hour,” Zhu said.

Students may want to switch a whole class in general because it may not interest them, or they found it hard first semester and want to drop it. 

“I already switched one of my classes and I am still thinking of switching either one of my classes or my teachers,” Patel said.

If you need to meet with a counselor, you can head over to Student Services located near the Cat Rack. There are multiple different options to choose from to get a hold of your counselor.

“Appointments can be made by using the links in our email signatures, by using the links in our Fall 2023 Counseling Office Update document, as well as by scanning the appropriate QR code on the flyers posted throughout the school’s hallways,” Farmer says.