Upon returning to school after the end of spring break, I was one of the many angry and exhausted students who wished spring break had been even just a day longer.

The next day, upon waking up, I realized that yes, I was not excited to return to school, but I would have to return eventually. This got me thinking about whether this feeling of agony was normal, or, would I feel even the slightest bit better if spring break were extended. Thus came the question: Would an extended spring break benefit students?

Spring break is a week off of school that tends to follow the end of the third quarter. This week off of school is very beneficial to students for several reasons. 

Not only do students travel, and spend time with family and friends during spring break, but this week off of school gives students time to destress, which in turn benefits students’ health. The de-stressing that occurs over spring break is especially helpful because it allows students to come back to school during fourth quarter, which can be seen by students as the hardest quarter, more energized and alert. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, the stress that most students feel during school has many negative effects on their bodies including mentally, emotionally and physically.

Some of the common physical effects include low energy, stomach aches, shaking, muscle aches and pains, and frequent colds or infection.

Mental and emotional effects that are often experienced due to stress consist of anxiety, depression, feeling constantly overwhelmed, the inability to relax, low self esteem, and becoming easily aggravated.

These effects can be very harmful to students. Physical effects can become much larger problems, and mental and emotional effects can cause students to withdraw from those they are closest to, affecting more then just their school life. 

Although the week off of school gives students sometime to destress, one week doesn’t seem to be enough time to fully benefit students throughout the last quarter.

Another week of spring break, or even a few more days could give students several more advantages.

For the teachers that assign homework over the break, this would allow students to both complete the assignment and have free time, instead of choosing to do either or.

This extra time could also be used to help students form a plan for the fourth quarter and going back to school. These days could also be used as an opportunity for students to regulate their sleep schedule so they aren’t exhausted their first day back.

While these days could be beneficial to some students, it’s very likely that students would use these days for non school related things, which may benefit their health, or social and home life, but not their academics.

Also, extending spring break means that students would either extend the school year further into June, or take away the three day weekends that students wish for every week.

So, would an extended spring break really benefit students?

After pondering all these things, I conclude that an extended spring break would not benefit students all that much. Yes, some students may take advantage of theses days and actually do something productive, but a majority of students, including myself, would most likely sleep in and do a brainless activity, such as binge watching a Netflix series.

However, there is another solution to revive students upon there return to school after spring break: take it easy on students. Please teachers, no pop quizzes to see what information we retained over spring break, because it will most likely be nothing but disappointing. This solution also includes students being nice to each other.

As students, we just have to suck it up and show up to school and at least try to learn something. After all, we are lucky to have a free education.

Happy fourth quarter!

Today I’m looking into a mystery that’s been going on this past week at Highland Park Senior High.

April 12th, 2016 some mysterious student(s) decide to put sticky notes, with positive messages written on them, up in the girls bathroom. But, they decide, the next day, to take them off. This left people with questions about who this person, or people, is/are and why are they doing this.

Being one of the individuals that was left with questions, I decide to take it into my own hands and try to find out more about this mystery.

It turns out, random students (girls) are the ones putting up the sticky notes. During the school year, they decide to wrote positive Post-it notes to make other girls feel better when they were feeling down. They put them around the school bathrooms to remind them they were not alone. Usually, the people who do this sort of thing don’t take credit for it. It’s like they want it to be a mystery, and students have been doing this for a while now, according to some older students at Highland Park.

I decide to ask a student about what they tought about this. Her name is Olivia Verdeja, a freshman at HPSH.

I asked was, “How did you personally feel when you saw this notes around the bathroom what we’re you’re toughts and reaction?”

She responded with, “I liked it and thought it as cool because in high school a lot of people don’t have self confidence and I think if girls see this it means that other girls feel the same way and aren’t alone.”

My opinion is that people at Highland should start to do this more often, as just one little thing can make a difference in others’ lives; both those who are struggling, and those who aren’t. Also, kids need to know that everyone cares and they’re not the only ones who feel like they do. Working together as a whole school coming together is a great thing.

Remember your recess days back in elementary school? Recess was a time for fun, and hanging out with your friends without having to worry. Well, in high school, you don’t get recess. Everyday is just going from class to class learning without a break, with kids rushing in the hallways trying to get to their next class before the bell rings.

Depending on the classes you take, you get a certain amount of work and assignments. With many assignments, you don’t have time for doing other stuff, which can lead to stress. Everyday is just going home and then starting homework.

Since high schools are giving students a ton of work, don’t you think recess is a good thing to add to high schools? Students could have the time to hang out with their friends and play games. Hanging out with friends can be a distraction from stress or worries.

Students could just have fun for 15 minutes and then it’s back to learning. They could get a break from learning and they might just enjoy school a bit more. Back in elementary school, during recess, everyone would run and play with their friends. Either playing tag or staying inside and playing card games or board games.

Recess would be nice to have in high school to help students get the stress off their shoulders. Students could work on their assignments with no distractions, a bit like study hall but with more freedom.

Sometimes students can feel restless and they want to go for a little run in the field. Recess would be giving them the freedom to do what they need to do for themselves that they can’t do in a classroom. Recess would be a good idea to add into high schools.