This last month, with the decrease in temperatures, several students have been absent due to illness. Some have been out for only a couple of days, and some have been out for more than a week. No matter how long, students find themselves struggling to keep up with their workload. “I have been sick twice this year. Each time was about a weeklong. I have crazy amounts of stuff to do, and I’m still trying to catch up with everything,” Isabel Allen said.

Most teachers have been helpful in giving students extensions and help. “Usually, my teachers do give extensions. They’re usually nice about it and give me a few extra days to finish any assignments I missed when I was gone,” Sofia Carmona said.

But, catching up includes keeping up. When gone, students miss work, tests, and exams. When they return, they must complete that work while keeping up with the new lessons taught in class. “The problem I have getting caught up, is balancing new work, getting your new work done and your old work. The new work, they don’t give you extensions usually. If you get too far behind, then you’re trying to take tests on stuff you learned a month ago,” Allen said.

So much work can also affect students’ extracurricular activities. “Sometimes it’s kind of hard because I’ll have to skip out on things and like, not go to things because I’m catching up on homework. Or, I’ll have to push homework back with things I’ve already scheduled and can’t not do. I’m in civil air patrol, so I had to miss two meetings. One because I was sick, and one because I just had way too much homework,” Allen said.

“Some days I have more work than others and it can affect the amount of free time I have for myself or do something I enjoy. I sometimes have to skip practices or cancel plans with friends because of the amount of work I have,” Carmona said.

A good way to reduce stress is just to communicate with your teachers about your workload and other activities. “I suggest that teachers put into consideration how we also have other classes to work on and worry about. I don’t mind having homework every day, but I also want my teachers to understand that a lot of students, including myself, also have sports, and other activities we attend after school as well,” Carmona said.