With finals week approaching, here is everything you need to know to be successful. Exemption forms are due next Wednesday, December 8^th at 4pm in Mrs. Lundy’s room, and these forms can be picked up in the folders posted on the wall to the right of the door to her room. Students are allowed to exempt their exam if they have a 90% or higher in the class, less than 10 tardies, less than three unexcused absences, and no ISS or OSS. If you plan on exempting, you will need to get your formed signed by the teacher of the class you would like to be exempt from taking the final. In addition, you will need a parent/guardian signature for the form.  

Teachers may choose, however, to give your class a unit test. These cannot be exempt, but instead of counting as 20% of your final grade, they count as a major grade. Major grades make up 40% of your class average, but the grade you receive for this end of semester unit test will be averaged with your other major grades that you’ve gotten throughout the semester. Before the exemption form deadline, ask your teacher if you can exempt their final, and if so, get their signature. Teachers and students will receive a confirmation email on Friday, December 10^th, to confirm that they qualify for the exam exemptions if they turn in their exemption form by the December 8^th deadline. 

With all that said, making the decision of which classes you’d like to exempt can be difficult. You may want to take the time to think about which classes would benefit you the most. You most likely want to exempt the finals in the classes you have low A’s in, because you do not want to risk your A average in the class. Finals count for 20% of your final grade, even more than practice grades, which only count for 10%. As a freshman, you can exempt two finals. As a sophomore, you can exempt 4. As a junior, you can exempt 5. As a senior, you can exempt as many as you qualify for. Also, as a reminder, grades between 1^st and 2^nd semester are not averaged, so if you fail your class in the 1^st semester, you will need to retake the course to receive credit for it.   

The schedule for finals week is different than most weeks. On December 13, there is an 8-period day. On the 14^th, that Tuesday, there are finals for classes A1 and A2. On the 15^th, that Wednesday, there are finals for classes A3 and A4. On the 16^th, that Thursday, there are finals for classes B1 and B2. On the 17^th, that Friday, there are finals for classes B3 and B4. That Tuesday through Thursday, every day is a half day. If you come to school and are not taking one of your final exams, you will be put into a separate room apart from your classmates who are taking the final. If you do not come to school, even if you are exempted from your final, you risk being marked absent. This is because if something were to happen to you while you were out of school, the school legally needs documentation that you were not at school. Good luck on your finals and unit tests!