As the new semester offers a completely fresh start in the gradebook, some are still applying what they learned last semester, while other students have cemented their study habits.
“I’ve gone studying with friends before, like at Panera or Starbucks or something. I’ve asked my parents or teachers for help and sometimes I just listen to music to give me motivation and confidence to do things,” sophomore Brookelynn Whipple said.
Asking others for assistance with schoolwork is encouraged by Whipple, because she said students can hold each other accountable for their work time which can assist with less procrastination. Others, take the opposite approach.
“I just put [my work] off til the last minute and do it at 11:00 at night when it’s due at 11:59, which is a really bad habit,” sophomore Aidan Labaali said.
One of Labaali’s goals for the new year is to use the assistance of reminder apps to keep track of all of his assignments. This is just one of many strategies that can be used by students to increase their grades from the beginning of the semester.
“Get a good jump now while you’re stuck inside anyway,” communication arts teacher James Andrezjewski said.
According to a poll taken of Timberland’s students , 31.4% of students rarely give up sleep for homework while 10.5% of students sacrifice sleep every night in order to keep on top of school work.
Another resource is teachers and librarians. Many teachers have strategies to help students, or can point students in the direction to find even more outlets for help.
“I like to tell [students] to start with the things they know they can check off their list very quickly. That way, the list looks smaller and they can feel more productive as they get those things finished… It’s also still important to pay attention to due dates,” librarian Elizabeth Faron said.
In a poll conducted among the student body, 38.4% of students indicated they felt satisfied with their grades last semester, 17.4% were not and 44.2% of students were somewhat satisfied with their grades.
