Hayden Shanafelt | Sports Editor
January 11, 2026
As winter break came to an end, students dread coming back to school after what was hopefully a relaxing break. This is especially apparent in seniors. When the second semester rolls in, seniors often start to think about their near future as graduation comes closer instead of focusing on the moment. It’s easy to get caught up in looking forward to the future, but the biggest piece of advice is to just enjoy your senior year; go to every event you can and get involved in as many things as possible.
One of the main reasons seniors often get into a “senior slump” is because after first semester grades are released, a lot of seniors seem to think their grades don’t matter as much.
Senior, Sofia Morielli, talked about how, “people have been working through school for so long and have [become] burnt out.” She points out how, as seniors reach their last semester and get closer to graduation, they look towards the end more. They see it as a final stretch that they struggle to get through. She also mentioned how, “it’s hard when they’ve been working towards college and post-graduation goals and now that they are starting to achieve those it’s hard to focus on the moment.” As seniors begin to get their college decisions back they get a sense of accomplishment and they start to shift into the mindset of their grades not mattering second semester since they have already been accepted into colleges.
So it’s apparent that a senior slump has consumed the class of 2026 this semester, but how do we avoid it? There is no way to avoid it, we all get burnt out at some point or look too far ahead and miss the present. Just because there is no avoiding it, that doesn’t mean we can’t find ways to get through it. Senior, Kate Martin, said “to get out of senior slump students should focus on the fun senior activities ahead” this could be prom, senior awards, and even sporting events. She also advises seniors to “enjoy the last moments of being in school together with their best friends.” The SCHS class of 2026 will go off into many different, wonderful directions, but that means we won’t be together forever, so enjoy the moment while we all are.
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