The infamous “senior slide” is a time joy and freedom; teachers fear it and students long for it. It’s a time when you can finally release the stresses that high school gave you over the long 3 and ½ years and relax as you watch your grades plummet with very little repercussions.

With the strange covid times and mixed up schedule, BSM students are experiencing a variety of different slides this year. Senior Alex Bronkala is committing to the traditional slide of shooting for a C and turning in no assignments, while fellow senior has chosen to check out in class and just turn in subpar “completed ” assignments.

Hanson looked forward to the senior slide along with the senior benefits.“I have been looking forward to the senior slide since freshman year because I was jealous of all the seniors that got to leave school early, come in late after sleeping in a little bit, or leave to get lunch and come back,” Hanson said.

With becoming a senior Hanson has also dropped her course load drastically, easing up on the amount of work she’s had to endure. “I’ve only taken 3 classes every quarter,” Hanson said.

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While Hanson’s approach to senior sliding may be about looking forward to benefits and lack of effort and commitment, fellow classmate Alex Bronkala has a little different approach to this year. “Since getting accepted to college I do the bare minimum to pass classes, just enough to not get my admission revoked,” Bronkala said.

The stresses of school are no longer an issue for Bronkala. “I no longer have the patience to stress and busy work of high school, it’s time to sit back and relax,” Bronkala said.

They may view this year differently and both may be sliding in their own way but they found common ground when it came to the effects of Covid on their school year. “Covid has made the senior slide more slidey. On virtual days, when you have access to your couch and tv, the senior slide really kicks in,” Hanson said.

Bronkala found himself getting more and more unmotivated as the year has gone on doing hybrid learning. “[It has] definitely has made the senior slide worse cause I can get unmotivated a lot and find myself losing interest in school even more while at home,” Bronkala said.

The spring semester is mostly about joy and relaxation as seniors wind down their final classes at BSM; however, teachers don’t necessarily share in those great feelings. Whether they are anti-slide or not BSM teachers will still give it their all to provide the best experience for their students regardless of the students’ efforts. “I don’t see why I should put in all this hard work and effort when the seniors don’t seem to care or put in any effort, but I still will because I care,” math teacher Sam Fulco said.