“Dear Bunky, I totally flunked my midterms, so first semester ended in disaster. How do I succeed during second semester and finals?”

— Student at KHS

Fellow KHSer, you are definitely not alone. Whether you’re a freshman or a senior, midterms are tough and can seriously affect your GPA, which is pretty scary. Studying can be a daunting task, especially when you have 4 or more classes to become an overnight expert in and quite frankly, you’d much rather watch Netflix. However, there are a few tips and tricks I can give you to get that GPA up second semester and ace those finals. First, use that thing at the bottom of your backpack called a planner. Writing down assignments and future due dates is a great way to stay ahead of the game and plan to prepare for tests and quizzes, so don’t try to remember it all. Second, stay organized! As easy as it is to keep everything in the pocket of one folder, this won’t help you come June. Clean out that three inch notebook you’ve been stuffing papers in since September and set up some binders for each class. Third, start studying early. Make your own study guide over the topics you’ve covered in class so far. It never hurts to break out the flashcards a couple of weeks in advance to lay some groundwork and make crunch time a little less crunchy. Lastly, don’t be afraid to go get help from your teachers! If you’re struggling with a math concept or just have writers block, try to set aside even a couple of minutes to get some one on one help from your teachers, it’s what they are there for! So, anonymous, I hope these tips help you in achieving your second semester and year end goals. Hang in there and work hard for 130 more days!