With the end of the semester fast approaching, cadets at PMA have very little time to get their grades squared away. The semester ends February 5, 2016, so students only have a few weeks to raise their grades and finish the semester off strong.

Junior Mayra Aguilar has been through four consecutive semesters in high school, so she knows how important it is to have passing grades before the semester ends.

“The semester is important to me because it shows how hard a student has been working throughout the course of the year. Knowing that having passing grades could be beneficial is something that keeps me going,” said Aguilar.

Students like Mayra start off the school year with a bang and exercise their academic stamina until the first semester draws to a conclusion. However, this may not be the case for everyone. Generally, students tend to fall into bad habits that take a negative toll on their grades.

“Something I could do to keep my grades at a passing level is to stop procrastinating. Even though my grades are above average, I often catch myself completing homework assignments at the last minute,” said Aguilar.

Many upperclassmen slack off on their academic studies, but it seems as if some of the lowerclassmen understand the importance of having exceptionally well grades once the first semester ends.

“Semester grades are very important to me because it is good to finish off with a high GPA. Something that motivates me to finish the semester with passing grades is the concept of wanting to be successful,” said Freshman Emilio Islas.

Freshman Allison Scott has little high school experience, but she knows that finishing the first semester with the highest grades possible could open options for her and lead her towards a pathway of success.

“Having the best grades possible before the end of the semester is important because it is one of the few leading factors in regards to my decision on what colleges I want to attend, as well as how far I progress in high school,” said Scott