Manville High School on January 27, 2020, will be entering the third quarter of the school year. Many students find themselves either disappointed or relieved at the conclusion of the second marking period. After surveying Manville High School’s student body, their differing views on the school year can be seen.

With the onset of the third marking period, students of differing grade levels and social statuses were questioned on their overall grades and activities. Over 43% of the students surveyed believe they could have done better, with only 37% of them admitting that if given the chance, they probably would have. 75% of the students surveyed state that extracurriculars and their job(s) prevented them from achieving higher marks, while the other 25% of the students stated that their lack of motivation affected their grades more than their extracurriculars. 

A majority of students felt that the amount of work assigned to them is overwhelming. Although each assignment in itself wouldn’t take that much time, it’s the combination of work from all classes that results in lower marks. 

The end of the second marking period works as a waypoint for the middle of the school year, with that comes midterms. Students in concurrent enrollment programs, semester courses, etc., will be completing their midterms before the second marking period ends. As a result of this, many students must prioritize their academics to study for the upcoming midterms. However, not all students are intent on studying. “I don’t think I’ll do too bad, as long as I pass” -Anonymous. There will be students who must deal with other matters first before prioritizing their academics, each student has different values after all. 

Although a good majority of students feel that they haven’t been excelling in their academics, they must be reminded that this is still only the mid-way mark. There are still two more marking periods before the end of the school year. Students who are currently failing in core classes still have a chance to improve their grades and overall marks. Students shouldn’t feel constrained at the little time left until the end of the second marking period, instead, they should reflect on what could be done in order to achieve their academic goals. Despite the mixed views of how the second marking period turned out, each student still has time to achieve their academic goal(s).