The second semester has started and many students have made goals for the fresh start. The semester gives a chance to many people to start over, they can put behind other things such as grades.

Long term goals can result in maintaining things such as finishing the year with a strong GPA, however, short term goals could be things such as doing homework without procrastinating. Long term is important because they set a standard that you can work to a little bit at a time. Short term goals can give a mindset of the things that need to be set straight before you shoot for the main goal.

Senior Shifa Naaz’s main goal is to complete this semester with an overall GPA of a 4.0. Her smaller goals are to complete all of her work on time and be self-disciplined, “I am looking beyond to make more friends and enjoy my semester year.” She also took two new classes, which compared to her first semester is different.

9th grader Michael Callaway’s biggest goal for this semester is to get a better grade in math. Some of his smaller goals, however, are to make more friends and help the people who need it. “My favorite part about a new semester is that I don’t have to worry about the previous semester’s work.” Says Callaway. He hopes to change the negative way he thinks about school.  “I would rather start a new semester than continue the same semester all year long because the experiences change when going into a new semester.” Callaway says.

10th grader Baylee Wedel looks forward to her trip to Spokane with her classmates this year. “My biggest goal is to have better attendance my smaller goal is to not procrastinate as much,” Wedel says, “I hope to change me turning in late work,” Says Wedel.

The semester has given a chance for many students to restart their bad habits and create better habits that can be positive towards their high school experience.

Some tips for finishing the year strong:

1. Don’t procrastinate. If you procrastinate chances are you will forget to do the assignment. Set a specific time to do things such as homework and do it the same time every day.
2. Don’t give up. If you give up, reaching that long term goal will be pretty much impossible. If you feel like giving up take a step back and look at things from a different perspective.
3. If you have specific goals for this year try to remind yourself every day. If you remind yourself every day about your goals it will help you remember what your short term goals are for. Try setting up a dream board and post all of your long term goals.
4. When studying, try to avoid loud and distracting environments such as studying in front of the tv or your phone. Instead, try studying in your room or in a library.
5. One of the most common goals is to maintain good grades. At times it may be hard to do this, but try to check them as often as possible, work on any missing assignments, and study for things that will make an impact on your grades such as quizzes and tests.
6. If you are one to get easily distracted while studying try to use the Pomodoro method. This is where you study for 25 minutes then take a 5-minute break, every 4th break add more time to your break.