The first semester is coming to an end, which means midterms are right around the corner. Exams will be given on Dec. 21 (A day) and Dec. 22 (B day). Freshmen are allowed a maximum of two exemptions, while sophomores get three, juniors get four, and seniors can possibly exempt all their exams. Students who had perfect attendance for the second and third six weeks can also receive a Golden Ticket, which gives them an extra exemption per ticket.

In order to be exempt from final exams, a student must meet certain requirements. Students must have a grade of 80 or above for the semester. Students must also have three or fewer absences during the semester per class. All absences, excused or unexcused – except those for school related activities – will count. A college day will count as an absence. A student who has five or more unexcused absences will lose their exemptions for every class.

A student must not have received a disciplinary action above the detention level or accumulated a total of five or more tardies for any six weeks. The student also needs to have paid off any debts or fines owed to the school or any school sponsored club, and must have cleared textbooks before mid-semester exams. Students should keep in mind that exemptions do not apply to any state mandated testing.

“The purpose of letting students exempt their midterms is that it gives students an incentive to make the best grades possible during each six weeks, as well as having good attendance,” assistant principal Steve Lisbony said.

Students are not required to remain on campus during the exam times for which they are exempt. Students that remain on campus must stay in the gym. A student eligible for exemptions may take any exam for which he is exempt; however, in such cases the overall grade may be raised as a result of the exam, but not lowered. The semester grade for those students who are exempt will be the average of the two six weeks grades.

“Students will only need to check in to 3rd and 7th periods,” Lisbony said. “They do not need to check into the other classes that they are exempt.”

Students who decide not to take their midterms that they are not exempt from will receive a grade of 0, which will count as 20 percent of their semester grade. Students will not check out through the front office and are responsible for reporting to their exams on time.