As the final weeks of our first semester come to a close, so begins the final exam season. With the piloting of the new two-day exam schedule, students at San Dieguito Academy are looking forward to break now more than ever. However, many other school districts, as well as many colleges, get out for winter break much earlier. In fact, the San Diego Unified District’s last day of school for the semester is Dec. 15, as opposed to SDA’s 21. The San Dieguito Unified District, which SDA is a part of, chose the later winter break date- but is this really the better option of the two?

Don’t get me wrong, there are a considerable amount of upsides to having winter break start later (December 22nd, for those who are not already eagerly counting down the days). For starters, having winter break begin later allows for us to finish the semester before taking weeks off of school. This is especially important for schools like SDA and Canyon Crest Academy, because it means we get to finish our classes at the same time we’re finishing our calendar year. Otherwise, the weeks of break might affect our performance on final exams. Fortunately, we don’t have to spend the winter break studying for finals or doing homework, and instead we get to enjoy some much-needed quality time with friends and family. In my opinion, there is nothing more rewarding than going into winter break without any school work weighing me down! And let’s be honest, the three weeks off of school are a nice bonus, too. 

However, there will always be some aspects of this schedule that are completely horrible and stress-inducing (in my completely objective opinion). Among the most glaringly obvious: cramming finals into a series of two days. Besides the fact that most of my tests need longer than one testing period to be completed, it also causes a disparity as some periods of a class will get an extra day to study for the same final. CCA is attempting a similar testing schedule, but there are a few key differences. On dedicated testing days, CCA’s non-testing classes are considerably shorter than SDA’s non-testing classes for the day. This gives them more time for their finals, which has been the main cause of concern for my teachers who wished for longer testing schedules. 

Another issue is that we get out of school much later than other school districts, and even universities. This is a problem for those traveling and visiting family, as many miss school (thus, missing finals) in order to see family in time for holiday celebrations. Besides that, many other schools and colleges get out for break far earlier than we do, meaning that there is less overlap in our break schedules and fewer chances to see people who are coming home from college for the holidays. 

While there are positives and negatives to starting winter break later, at the end of the day I recognize that no schedule would be one-hundred-percent perfect. Honestly, I am happy with our schedule as long as we get plenty of time off for the holidays!