“I want to go home.”

“Only six more months.” 

*wears sweatpants the whole week*

At a certain point in the year, students and teachers hit a funk, and sadness spreads across Lakeland High School. 

The weather is gloomy, the holiday season is over, and spring break is still multiple months away, leaving some students feeling hopeless. 

Classes feel never-ending, and grades start to plummet, but certain steps can be taken to relieve this feeling. 

Michael Locke, a senior at LHS, is ready for the 2022-23 school year to come to an end. When the semester comes around the corner, it gives students an incentive to stay focused in school. During Thanksgiving and Christmas breaks, students are distracted with winter sports and the thrill of the holidays, so grades tend to drop. 

“I tend to do good at the last minute and get my low grades up before the semester ends,” Locke said. 

It is essential for students to crack down and get focused on ending the semester on a good note.

Students are not the only ones that begin to feel this way; teachers do as well. Not only do teachers have to wake up to come to LHS, but they have to teach and deal with the worst of moody teenage students. 

John Keating, a teacher at LHS, thinks that the gray weather can depress some people and make some of the students’ grades go down. Generally, 3rd quarter grades are the worst of the year because students get burnt out. 

“The depressing months make the spring and summertime sunshine that much sweeter,” said Keating. 

Some may be affected by the weather changes and Rathdrum being hit by cold, but Rick Anderson is out of that league. 

“I like the change in season. For me, it is not depressing. It might be that way for others,” Anderson said. 

Anderson, a history teacher at LHS, has been teaching for many years and has seen the changes in students as the year goes on. Grades do not revolve around the seasons as much as the amount of time school is in session, and kids tend to tire of the monotony of school. Otherwise, grades would improve in April when it warms up. 

Eventually, the weather will get warm, and the summer will come. It is important to keep grades up. 

I personally still have good grades but want to quit and go home often. I think the weather affects my emotions and my mood but not my grades. Having the semester in the middle of these sad months helps to motivate me. Once the second semester starts, though, my grades tend to plummet. 

Jan. 27 signifies the end of the first semester. Keep it together. We are almost there.