By Kellie Lodge
As the first semester at Hopkinton High School winds down, students, freshmen in particular, are becoming anxious about their mid-term exams.  Mid-term exams usually consist of topics covered throughout the semester and count for ten percent of students’ final grades.

Being inexperienced with the mid-term exam format, many freshmen are nervous and stressed over studying for their exams.  Elle Girardi, a freshman at Hopkinton High School, stated, “I’m really nervous; I do not know what to expect and I am unsure about the teachers’ standards.”

During the week of January 18th to the 21st, student will take two exams each day. Since exams are all within the same week, it can be hard to balance the amount of studying required for each test.  “I’m planning on reviewing one subject every night this week and then study for a few hours every day on the weekend.  Although, it depends on how much teachers review in my classes,” said Katherine Taggart, a freshman at Hopkinton High School.

The level of difficulty of exams varies with each student.  Katherine said, “I think history is going to be my hardest final because my teacher said it is only one question and I do not know how it is possible to take one whole semester of learning and sum it up into one question.”

Mrs. Fairbanks, a geometry teacher at Hopkinton High School, stated, “I have freshman and sophomores in the same class.  The sophomores do seem less stressed because they know what it is all about and they do not think it counts for much.  The freshman do not know what to expect.”  This past Thursday, Unite mentors discussed the topic of mid-term exams with their assigned freshmen groups during advisory period.

Second semester beings on Monday, January 24th, and serves as a fresh start for all HHS students.