June is the month that students both love and hate all at the same time. Students love June because they know it’s almost time for school to let out for the summer. However, June also means Regents exams, final exams given by the state that determine if they graduate. This tends to be the most stressful time for students as it means review over the entire course. Former Earth Science teacher Pam Miller gave her students a quiz every day consisting of old Regents questions. The quizzes, she said, “Would better prepare us for the Regents.” Some of the classes that require Regents include U.S History, Global (includes info from both Global 1 and 2), Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Science, Geometry, Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2/Trig, and English (end of 11th grade year.)                            

The Science Regents require a certain number of lab minutes (one thousand two hundred) to be on file in order to take the science exams. Each exam has a three hour time limit and students are required to stay for at least two hours. Review usually starts a few weeks before and most teachers hold review classes as a way to help students cram ten months of learning into three hours.  While it is stressful, most feel accomplished when they pass. Some think studying is useless: sometimes they pay the price for it,and sometimes they don’t. The most stressful time of year can lead to happiness, or heartbreak. You choose which path you take. Review materials can be found at www.nysedregents.org.