The air hangs thick with caffeine- fueled stress, an elephant in the room weighing heavy on each student. Hallways are littered with people, clinging to textbooks and projects, attempting to learn months of material in minutes.

This is finals week, and this semester, finals may seem more challenging than in the past.

Many students have expressed their concern over the limited amount of time that they have been given to prepare for their tests. With only two weeks to prepare after a break, in which some claim caused them to forget some course content, tension is growing.

“If we have a two week period of Christmas break it’s like how am I supposed to remember everything?” Raquel Green, jr., asked. “We still have to learn new information and at the same time we have to go back and learn everything we’ve learned before. It’s stressing me out.”

Students were given eight school days after break prior to the first set of exams. Teachers have also expressed some displeasure about the placement of final exams.

“I wish our district had been given the freedom to start the year earlier and finish finals prior to winter break.  I think it made more sense,” Sean Neilly, Kennedy history teacher, said, “I think the governor made a mistake in interfering in what should have been a local decision.”

“When you get back to school after break, life sucks and you’ve lost everything that you’ve learned,” Lucas Berry, sr., said

Aren Buresh sr., takes only four classes at Kennedy, but still feels the stress of the change of schedule.

“I usually try not to put too much pressure on finals, but I feel a little bit more nervous. Especially with my foreign language class because I haven’t been in class every day speaking it and that’s when that really counts for practice,” Buresh said.

Final exams will take place Thursday and Friday of next week, both of which will be half days. Students then can enjoy a three-day weekend, due to Martin Luther King day on Monday.