The weather is getting chilly and Christmas is right around the corner. And finals are upon us (Dec. 21-22)

For a few years finals were set to take place after Christmas break, but last year was changed to take place before the holiday. Although taking finals around Christmas isn’t new, this year is a bit different with the time students had last year for their break.

“The way finals are set up has changed a few times through the years,” PHS Vice Principal Mr. Steven Lensegrav said. “For a few years we did it so finals were two weeks after Christmas, but changed to doing it before Christmas last year. We changed it because we felt students’ test scores would be better and they wouldn’t have to take a test right when they get back.

“Covid didn’t have a play in the decisions. Having things this way is better for the students so they can do better on the test and not have to worry about taking it when they get back from Christmas break.”

Although the schedule change was intended to be beneficial to students, some were negatively impacted because it affected their plans outside of school.

“Finals being so close to Christmas does interfere with some things,” PHS sophomore Justin Hobbs said. “Since I’ve been studying so much to prepare for my tests, I don’t have time to go Christmas shopping or anything like that. It didn’t interfere too much with my Christmas plans in general, because of COVID everything was already canceled.”

Hobbs was just one of the students who were affected by this new schedule. While some students were affected by the change, some staff members remained indifferent to the adjustment.

“We’ve been doing finals like this for a few years now,” PHS English teacher Mrs. Bailey Jackson said. “Although finals are a little close to Christmas this year I prefer it this way because the students’ test scores are better since the students aren’t gone for weeks and get tested as soon as they come back. The grading over doesn’t affect me too much because I’m an English teacher and I have to grade all the time.”