Whenever we reach the end of a semester, finals are the main thing on my mind, and I know I’m not the only one. I try my best to study a little bit every day, but between extracurriculars and sports, it’s really hard to find the time. That’s what I loved so much about the old ACE schedule, but now that’s been taken away from us.

On March 6, it was officially announced that CHS students would not have the opportunity to go home after their ACEs, but instead have a full school day with ACEs alternating every other block. This not only deprives students of the ability to do extra studying at home, but also takes away a resting period to reset and be ready for more ACEs the next day.

According to Timely Care, 31% of students state their top source of stress is finals and midterms. This can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and loss of concentration. One of the great things about having two finals and a break was the relaxing after a hard day of tests. A student could go home and sleep, have lunch with friends or do whatever they needed to do to decompress. With a full school day, that’s harder to achieve.

Personally, I play a spring sport, so my after-school time is nonexistent. As all athletes would know, practices don’t stop for finals, so I get back home close to 7 p.m. whether I have a test in the morning or not. This leaves barely any time to just take a break and de-stress after a long day with two ACEs, which is what a lot of students desperately need.

Along with just taking a break, students need time at home to study. The current ACE schedule has two study periods for each of the final two days of ACE week, but that time could be used a lot more productively. Completing work at home can lead to an increase in focus of 22%, according to My Hours. Often when trying to focus at school, I find myself getting distracted and off-task, whereas at home I have a personalized setup that works great for me and I know will help me be productive.

Like me, most students know what they need to do in order to be successful during ACEs, and restricting the study periods to being in-school doesn’t allow them to do this. Students either won’t be as focused as they need to be to do well on their finals, or they’ll sacrifice their sleep later that night trying to get all of their studying done.

Whether it’s the relaxation time or the extra ability to prepare for ACEs, the half-days during the last week of each semester were a great way to relieve some of the stress from those high-pressure days, and without them ACEs are going to become a lot more difficult.

The views in this column do not necessarily reflect the views of the HiLite staff. Reach Camryn Lazard at [email protected].