Due to fire danger related power outages during the dry season in California that led to several cancelled days of school at Bear River, the first semester has been extended.
Students originally were scheduled to take finals on December 18-20 but will now take them January 15-17, adding an additional three weeks to the semester.
In an email sent to parents, Assistant Superintendent Dan Frissila explained the district’s thought process behind the decision.
“We want to thank you again for your patience during this unprecedented Fall season,” he said. “While we certainly hope this is not the ‘new normal’ across the region, we do anticipate, and plan for, continued PSPS (Public Safety Power Shutoffs) scenarios in the short term future.”
He went on to talk about the new dates for the end of the semester and other changes that have been made in response to the situation.
“The end of the first semester has been pushed back to after Winter Break,” said Mr. Frissila. “The minimum days calendared for December 18, 19, and 20 will be converted to regular school days. January 15, 16, and 17 will now become minimum days to accommodate final exams.”
Some think that the extension was done with good intentions but that it may negatively affect students.
“I think that the extension of the semester is beneficial as well as not beneficial,” said Junior Lizzie Glomson. ”Students get more time studying over Christmas break, but some students might not study, losing their knowledge of information for the finals.”
Sophomore Jake Voght agreed with Glomson.
“I’ve got mixed feelings about taking finals then,” said Voght. “With the break, you have more time to study for the tests, but realistically, I don’t think I’ll have time to do so due to family and events which may cause me to forget a bunch of information from my classes. I think the idea of taking finals then came from good intentions, but overall I don’t think it was a very good idea from a student’s perspective due to the above stated reasons.”
Some Bruins, like Junior Noah Dunhower, think that the semester extension was a great idea.
“I don’t mind having to take the finals after the break,” said Dunhower. “It gives me more time to prepare, especially during the break when I won’t be getting more work. As long as every teacher gives their review material before the break, then I think it will turn out fine. People just need to be willing to do the work.”
Senior Hailey Hughes was against the move.
“It’s kinda not a smart idea to move finals after a two week break, we will most likely forget everything,” said Hughes.
Dunhower shared how he felt about the decision overall and encouraged his fellow students to take advantage of what he sees as a good opportunity.
“The decision makes sense to me, since we missed some content during the outages,” said Dunhower. “That can be made up for now. I think the people who take this opportunity to study over the break will really benefit from the extra time.”
