Be honest, what do you do over winter break?  We spend the time that we never have during the rest of our school year with friends and family.  We celebrate the holidays.  We travel all over the world to see family.  We catch up on all of our favorite TV shows.  We play video games.  We go to parties.  We exchange gifts.  As you peruse this list, notice that schoolwork does not quite make the cut.

The school board is voting this Monday on whether or not, among other things, finals should be moved to the week before winter break.  This would mean second semester would simply start the week after break.  Teachers would no longer be able to give us huge review packets or intensive projects over the break.  There would be no reason to ruin our precious relaxation time with cramming for final exams.

With final exams being a couple of weeks after break as they are now, students can’t win.  There are two types of students in this world: the kind that give up their fun to spend their break studying and stressing, or the students that put living their lives in front of academics once break rolls around.  You shouldn’t have to make that choice, and if finals came before break, you wouldn’t have to.

So here’s the catch: school would start closer to the middle of August than the end.  For students who go on vacation during that time of the summer, it could pose a slight problem.  However, it’s important to note that the school year would end before Memorial Day, and seniors would graduate even earlier.  Do those two weeks in August matter that much in the long run when summer starts much earlier and winter break is a million times more carefree than it ever could be with finals after it?  We think not.

Additionally, the new calendar could provide a more maximized summer vacation for athletes. Fall sports begin two weeks before school actually starts. This means that athletes come to Niles West for practice, sometimes for two-a-days, during the summer. If the calendar changes, we would already be in school, resulting in two weeks gained at the beginning of the summer, not lost at the end to sports.

The fact of the matter is that our grades are going to benefit from this.  Even those of us who have the drive to break out the books over break (by the way, kudos, most of us are not as strong as you) forget some things that can’t be recalled with a maximum of two days of review. More importantly, we would be able to truly enjoy the holidays and the respite from the constant pressures of school, which is sort of the point of having such a long time off.  Almost every college works this way, so why shouldn’t West catch up with the times?  If you want a more cohesive and successful school year, throw your support behind these calender changes.