At Cal High, the final weeks of the school year are often associated with a flurry of activity, as students face the final conclusion of various things they’ve built up to over the course of not only this school year, but over the past several years of their lives.
Before Einstein could redefine science and start the modern age, he had to learn basic physics. Before Michael Phelps won 28 Olympic medals, he first had to learn not to drown when his floaties were taken off. The results and achievements you will get and have now are a sum of all the efforts you’ve put into your passion and work, and given that you’ve applied yourself, we can observe great results.
Academically, this principle shows up in a variety of ways. For instance, the final day for teachers to grade assignments is approaching rapidly—so the grades you have now are essentially the grades you’ll be ending the year off with. For some, this signifies an end to a long struggle to maintain high academic standards, pushing yourself to any means necessary to achieve that—whether by studying late into the night, doing extra work on a project to lock in some extra credit to ensure your grades are protected later on, or by staying in embedded to ask for help on the regular. For others, it signifies the beginning of a desperate chase for points and an end to being nonchalant about what you see in Aeries—to raise that C+ to a B or to earn back what you missed on that one test because you couldn’t fall asleep for whatever reason the night before.
In addition to this, the final days of the school year bring with them the dreaded final exams. If you’re one of those people on campus taking one or more AP tests, you’ve already gotten a taste of this; for those who don’t know, AP testing started last week (which answers the question, “Why isn’t there any bell ringing on campus?”) If you’re not taking AP tests, you’ve got a little bit more time—but not much. Because of this, students are starting the final phases of their study, and cramming is the rule, not the exception, this time of year. One student we interviewed said, “Yeah, I don’t really study for most of the year, but for finals, I try to lock in a bit so that my grade doesn’t drop without me having the time to correct it.” For juniors especially, end-of-year grades are IMPORTANT, as they are the final determinants of what colleges consider when looking at their student applicants. Therefore, how you do in these final days may determine some final outcomes in life—something to consider with some serious thought.
Athletically, we may also see the results of years of effort come to light. This is the point where, if you’ve been working hard all year or over the past couple of years, you finally earn your oft-coveted varsity letter and get to wear it with pride. For those who worked the hardest and won the most over the spring season, there’s one last competition to face—the CIF prelims, and, if you’re good enough, finals and state. Amongst the great teams playing for Cal High this season, members of two sports in particular have really shown what they’re capable of: the softball and the swim team. The softball team continues its streak of dominance, triumphing over the Del Rio league competition for the third year in a row without any defeats, and if last year is any indication of their ability now, they’ll be bringing home a state title soon. Our swim team this year also had many qualifiers to both CIF prelims and CIF finals, with our girls medley team taking 1st in their race and taking 2nd place overall in the Division 4 CIF Finals!
Unfortunately, the end of the year also brings with it the bittersweet end to our seniors on campus, who’ve spent 4 years building up their relationships with the school, its activities, and the people that give it its soul. A sophomore we interviewed said, “It’s so sad to see the seniors go. They welcomed me into so many things with open arms last year, and really gave me access to the parts of school and friendships that make it worth coming every day.” For certain seniors, the end of school may signal the final days of true togetherness—although many of the bonds formed on campus in their 4 years on campus will last for a lifetime, the time spent at Cal High offers students a chance to bond every day, an experience that friends going to different colleges or friends split between college and high school will likely miss.
Overall, the end of the year at Cal brings with it the conclusion to a variety of experiences—some of which will continue to shape students’ lives far into the future.