The school year ends on May 24th, a short distance away when you consider how far we have come this  year.  Spring break is even closer coming up at the end of this week.

After the NDA  student body returns from spring break, they will have only 10 weeks of school left. If you are interested in finishing the school year strong, there are a couple of things you must do.

For example, I would  strongly recommend that all students get at least eight hours of sleep per night this can be a challenge at a rigorous school like NDA due to the heavy workload. Sleep has been shown to help students focus in school and earn better grades . I would strongly recommend students focus on self care year-round but especially during finals.

All students should prepare for finals before they begin. Finals are a stressful time in the lives of a high school student. Some ideas for getting ready are to arrange your binders for maximum studying efficiency.  Another way to prepare and decompress is to enjoy the nice weather and relax while spending time outside in nature.

Over all, it is important to take care of  yourself during these tests that have so much bearing on the outcome of your year. I would recommend to work hard at all you do in high school and achieve your goals. But, on the other hand,   would strongly recommend all students to have a life outside of the classroom. Having fun things to do and leisure activities is a nice balance to keeping a busy schedule. For example, when I was in middle school, I had swim practice for three hours after school. I remember how in shape I was, not to mention being ready to do my homework and get to bed.This was the opposite of most kids my age who just wanted to run around and eat ice cream at night. My parents always asked if I wanted a treat for my hard work but I was motivated to be the best swimmer around.  

The key to success is to stay busy and focus on the important things in life like family and school because these things will be the ones that matter.