The end of the school year can be very stressful for high school students, it can almost be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be.

According to National Board Certified Teacher Angela Watson, after standardized tests are done many students lose the motivation to continue, which can result in behavioral issues.

“There’s also an incredible amount of paperwork for teachers to do at the end of the school year. Students often take advantage of the fact that their teachers are tired and preoccupied with all the forms and data they have to turn in,” said Angela Watson.

Not only do students of all high school grades get a bad case of Senioritis (an supposed decline in motivation or academic performance by high school seniors), but also brings an abundant amount of classwork. These circumstances combined cause the end of year stress.

While many students seem to have similar end of year behaviors, every student is different and have different methods to relieve their stress, what works for another student might not work for others.

“I deal with end of year stress by knowing that even though I just want to stop and get ready for summer, I just push through because this part of the year is just as important as the rest of the year,” said Anthony Zimmerman, a sophomore at HHS.

According to the NEA member benefits website, students should “snap out of pessimistic thoughts” and move onto more rational and positive thoughts.

In addition to implementing a more positive attitude to your end of year lifestyle, planning is a crucial part of time management, and is considered to be very effective.

“Time management, when done effectively and thoughtfully, can help to reduce stress significantly,” said the Mayo Clinic.

Rowan Cothren, a sophomore at HHS, is one of many students at HHS who has implemented time management very effectively to help improve her daily routine.

“I have a schedule in my room which has the two months leading to finals, it is planned out and color coded so I know what to study and when to study,” said Cothren.

Time management would not be possible without great planning skills. According to the TIME magazine, the management technique that works best is fighting stress before it even starts, planning things rather than letting them happen.

Similarly, Jakob Watson,  HHS freshman, applies Cothren’s approach to handling stress along with planning skills to allow the stress management technique to be possible.

“I manage my time and write down my assignments so I don’t get behind,” said Jakob Watson.

While Watson states that he always works his hardest while studying for finals and doing other end of year work, he always tries to give himself a break. Whether it is a nap, watching tv, or reading a book, relaxing is always a nice way to reward yourself after a hard day of work.

Along with many HHS students who agree to the process of de-stressing, Dr. Robert Kriegel and Dr. Neal Vahle from Stanford University agree with the crucial process relaxing is for students at this time of year.

“To preserve your sanity, de-stress and improve the quality of whatever you are doing, you need to step back from the action. It is important to take breaks as it allows the brain to refuel and refresh before continuing on working on school work,” said Kriegel and Vahle.