Even as spring break comes to an end and the majority of students come back from various locations relaxed and tanned, something does not feel normal. In past years, at this point in the school year, students and teachers were making the final preparations for their Ex Ed courses. However, this year with the move to the fall, students will now need a different mindset going into the final months of school. The actual transition of Ex Ed to the fall was successful and it seemed as though a lot of students benefited from meeting new people and having the opportunity of sustaining those newfound relationships. The move to the fall causes for students to become more worn out during the final months of the school year.

As a senior and somebody who has been able to experience the great program of Ex Ed for the past four years, the lack of breaks will be a difficult change for students. Once Ex Ed had come and gone and new memories and friendships had been made, it seemed like the end of the year was practically upon us. It almost acted like a checkpoint for students to check out. People, especially seniors, seemed to coast through the end of the year once their Ex Ed course was completed. This year, though, the students don’t have a disjointed fourth quarter that includes multiple breaks like they have had in the past. Students who were not seniors had a nice break and felt more relaxed before they had to approach end of the year tests, projects, and papers.

Though having Ex Ed moved to the fall removes the indication that the school year was in the home stretch, it does have its benefits. In the past the last quarter and months of the school year were very choppy and nothing seemed to flow. The extra week that Ex Ed took away from school also made it difficult for the seniors to prepare for their upcoming IB exams. With a more fluid schedule, seniors have more time to review for the daunting exams that will be coming up in May. It will not only benefit the seniors and their review schedules, but it should also benefit the underclassmen who will be preparing for their second semester finals. The extra week could prove to be worthwhile for students in the long run.

One of the greatest parts of Ex Ed is the new friendships that are made. In the past the new friendships that were created seemed to diminish once school had ended. This year, those bonds have had the opportunity to grown and strengthen as the school year went on. However, I believe that there needs to be more time to build on those relationships. There was the recent Ex Ed scavenger hunt, but there could be more chances to build on these new relationships, maybe a winter field day for each course. This is a start, but there could be more.

It will be interesting to see how the facility and the students react to actually having to go to multiple five-day school weeks for an extended amount of time. There isn’t a natural break from here on out, and we all know that the last month of school seems to be the longest month. With Ex Ed no longer providing a natural end of the year signal, students will almost be forced to stay more attentive for the remainder of the year.