With final exams in the rearview, students move into the dreaded third quarter when motivation is lacking and breaks are few and far between, making for a less than ideal period in the school year.

With very little extended breaks from school, students find it hard to maintain their motivation to keep up with their school work. “It makes sense because there aren’t as many days off and students get tired of being at school,” said senior Justin Marshall.

Lily Furniss, also a senior, argued that students fall into this slump because, “People have this attitude that they have a lot of time to manipulate their grades so they tend to slack off.” Having an entire semester in front of them to form their semester grades makes it difficult to find motivation until fourth quarter when the pressure of semester grades increases exponentially.

Going into third quarter right after finals is one of the reasons students tend to lose energy. “It’s after finals and nobody really wants to try,” said sophomore Andrew Wayne. Furniss also argued that, “It goes into fourth quarter as well, especially if you’re a senior.” Senior Paige Campbell agreed when she said, “I feel like it’s more of a second semester slump and not just third quarter.”

After a hectic first semester, the lull of third quarter can be a welcome break in the action; however, it is still a long way from the end of the school year. “Everyone is tired and it’s like the hump day of the school year,” said senior Maddie Friedman. Campbell added that, “Students stop trying during third quarter and realize they have to keep their grades up fourth quarter for colleges.” For many, it is simply the long haul before the end of the school year.

Some take a different view of the idea of the third quarter slump. When asked if he thought there was such a thing as the slump, junior Jacob Skolnik said, “I don’t think there is one.”

Contrary to the idea that more breaks would help lessen the third quarter blues, Furniss said, “It would be nice to have an extra institute day or two, but longer breaks tend to make us lose focus.” Senior Elizabeth Wayne stated, “Winter is kind of depressing and the atmosphere that the seniors create rubs off on younger classmates.”

Teachers also have varied opinions on the third quarter slump. English teacher Leslie Skizas said, “I think that sometimes the slump will come more at the beginning of fourth quarter. Skizas described the slump as not so much a drop in grades but, “It’s sometimes like an energy drop.” History teacher Kerry Hall said, “I have found that some seniors take a really deep breath after first semester ends. What that translates to is at the start of third quarter some seniors, not the majority, but some seniors don’t do much work.”

Teachers see the common trend that motivation during third quarter and even into fourth quarter is lacking, especially for members of the senior class. Math teacher Shanna Kwall observed, “I’ve definitely seen in the past a big difference between kind of just attitude in class, as well as homework completion from second quarter to third quarter.”

Students lack the same energy and motivation that was apparent during first and second quarter, which does not go unnoticed by the teachers. However, students are aware that they can succumb to the third quarter blues and some try to avoid the pitfall.

“In an ideal world I would plan ahead and manage my time well,” said Furniss when asked about what she does to keep the slump at bay.  Kwall is also optimistic about students ability to stave off the slump, “I think a lot of students are aware of it and make a conscious effort not to fall into that.”