Temperatures are dropping, homework is piling up, and students are beginning to get tired of the daily routine.

It is proven that students are more worn out during the winter than any other month. According to Boston’s Children’s Hospital, “The extra light in the morning usually makes it easier for kids to get up and get going.” This explains why students are most tired now; winter is finally starting to settle in, and students are doing their best to adjust to the change.

Despite coming back from a long, relaxing winter break, Wayne Hills students are not recharged for the new year. Now that it is January, the school year has finally settled in, and students are feeling drained as the second marking period comes to an end.

Typically around this time of year, school work begins to pile up, sports stay busy as usual, and the freezing New Jersey weather gets more and more unbearable. Though this only lasts a few months, students require a lot of stamina to push through the short-lived though intense storm.

Why is it that this time of year is so especially difficult? According to sophomore Sophia Flower, “The cold weather makes me tired, and coming to school gets harder everyday.” Students like Flower agree that having to wake up early every day and walk outside in freezing temperatures makes school seem far less appealing this time of year.

It is no secret that the second and third marking periods are the hardest for students. Introductions to the new school year have gone away, and the bulk of learning is here: long-term projects, cramming for tests, and tedious classwork and homework assignments. With this workload becoming the usual routine, school seems endless. Some students, like Sophomore Ethan Kim, said, “It’s the middle point of the year and it seems like there is no end in sight.” The bulk of the year is overwhelming for most students, and many are not hopeful that the school year will ever end.

Ms. Logothetis, a social studies educator here at Wayne Hills, shared a solution that might benefit students who are struggling: “Students should be able to know where to find and access resources that exist in our school. There are many resources to help, but not everyone knows they exist.” At Hills, students are always able to reach out to teachers and counselors to discuss their school work and mental health, although many are unaware of the help they can get.

Although this time of year seems foggy, there is an end in sight. Despite the busyness that comes along with the cold weather, one way students are staying motivated is by looking forward to the warmer season: summer! Sophomore Chelsey Fernicola attested to this when she said, “What’s getting me through the second marking period is thinking about summer coming in a few months.”

Students are already feeling drained as the second marking period comes to a close, although as long as they persevere and look forward to a relieving summer, the end of the school year will be here before they know it.