As the first quarter comes to a close, students and faculty alike can’t help but notice how fast time flies. Perhaps it was the usual hustle and bustle of  the beginning of the school year or the fall season at Regina, but more likely, it is that semester finals, for the first time at Regina, will take place the week before Christmas break. First quarter and now second quarter seems a whole lot shorter.

Regina is following the footsteps of many surrounding Catholic schools by making this change. Hopefully it will make winter break more relaxing and enjoyable rather than spending the two week break studying for finals.

There have been mixed reviews from students.

“With college apps, sports, and homework I haven’t really had time to take it all in and realize that for many of us, its our last first quarter!” said Erin Crowley ’15.

Many students are also concerned about how little time there is to fix a bad grade.

“It doesn’t give students much of a chance to pull grades up, so you’re pretty much stuck with what you have,” said Grace Spiewak ’15.

This could become a potential problem for students applying to colleges that require first quarter grades to be sent. There is no margin for error, one B could get somebody rejected from a top tier school.

Other students are unsure whether they like the schedule change or not.

“I’m torn because I like the fact that I’ll be able to either relax or focus on college over the break…but now I’ll be studying on my birthday, December 14th,” said Bella Karwatowicz ’15.

Many people are excited by the shortness of the first semester. It is crazy to think that the school year is already a little of one-fourth over.

“I like how short it is. It wasn’t too short that it went by too quickly, it feels like a good amount of time for school. The end of the first quarter makes me excited for the holidays and I’m looking forward to second semester when everyone starts getting their acceptance letters to colleges and our futures are being decided!” said Rose Belcastro ’15.

It is too early to tell what effect the short first semester will have on the rest of the school year. We can only hope that the second semester will go just as quickly.