As the first semester comes to a close, exams become the one thing standing in the way of students and their winter break.

This year, the exam schedule will run a little differently due to the changes in this year’s daily schedule, such as an eighth period.

The Monday of exam week will run through shortened periods of seventh, sixth, first, second, third, fourth, and fifth periods, respectively.  Then, starting at 12:45, students with an eighth period will take their eighth-period exam.

Principal Bradley Roberson said that the administration decided to put the eighth-period exam on Monday because of the population of eighth-period classes.

“We wanted to put the eighth-period exam on Monday because a lot of seniors and athletes do not have an eighth-period exam,” Roberson said.  “We wanted the first exam, because it is on Monday and offers students the least amount of time to study, to affect as few people as possible.  Seniors who do not have a sixth or seventh period also will not have to arrive to school until their first-period class begins.”

The rest of the exams will go in order starting with first and second periods on Tuesday, third and fourth on Wednesday, fifth and sixth on Thursday, and seventh on Friday, which will be a half day.

Roberson said that this semester’s schedule will act as a trial schedule.

“I sent the schedule out to all of the teachers to see if they liked the setup,” he said. “We tried to take all of the scenarios and create the most efficient schedule we possibly could.”

Sophomore Olivia Wymore believes that the schedule is an efficient approach to exam week.

“The schedule was a little confusing at first, but after I found out the reasoning behind why they organized it the way they did, it makes sense,” she said.

Most of the other exam procedures have stayed the same.  Students who have to report for morning exams but are exempt from the afternoon exam must be signed out by parents, who can sign out their children the day before or any other time before the sign-out period.

Only semester classes may be exempted first semester, and exemption tickets will be handed out first period on Thursday.