Column: Seniors slump after spring break

 by Danielle Childress

Springtime has always meant the same thing for high school students across the country: sunshine, flip-flops and senioritis.

As the end of the school year draws nearer, students in all grades experience a drop in academic focus and motivation. It’s hard not to. The weather is nice, summer is on its way and frankly, the school year has gone on long enough.

And for seniors, it is not just the end of another school year, but the end of senior year. Class rank is finalized, college acceptance letters are in, and the end is in sight. Skipping school and heading to Belle Isle or Kings Dominion is more fun than sitting in a classroom all day; this is, however, the time seniors need to make that final push to make a strong finish to their high school careers.

Nearly all colleges, universities and trade schools reserve the right to revoke admissions offers due to a serious decline in academic performance during senior year. And quite frankly, they are not afraid to do so. There’s no use putting in three and a half years of hard work and earning acceptance to a fantastic academic institution, only to have that acceptance overturned due to pure laziness in the final semester of high school. It’s just not worth it.

Also, seniors who have met academic requirements and have missed five or fewer days of class are exempt from final exams. I am sitting at about three absences per class.

Personally, I have no intention of taking those exams come June, but as the school year progresses, it seems harder and harder to get my butt in the car and on the way to school every morning.

We seniors can’t drop the ball now. And for seniors that have already missed more than five days in a class, come to school every day anyway. Those final exams are a significant part of semester grades, so students should prepare thoroughly for them.

Coming to school is hard. I get it. Coming to school is even harder when class rank is no longer changing, college deposits are paid and the weather is getting sunnier by the minute. Trust me, I get that, too. But seniors please stick it out. There’s only a little more time left. Enjoy as much of it as possible. Graduation will be here faster than you think.