This year, March is going to be the worst month in the entire 2016-2017 school year. After Presidents’ Day, students in Calvert County Public Schools will have five full weeks of school with no two-hour earlys or closings – that is, unless there is some freak snowstorm. This daunting relay will be hard on everyone, students and faculty alike. However, there are some things that can help pass these five weeks with some semblance of ease.

1. Sleep often. Having a good night’s rest will help not only pass the time, but it will also prevent students from having sleep-deprived outbursts towards their peers and teachers.
2. Bring a blanket to school. Yes, people may think this is weird, but bringing something cozy to school will help get through classes with relative ease.
3. Take naps. If an onslaught of hormonal rage is bubbling to the surface, go to the nurse’s office and ask if you can rest during lunch or during your seminar period. If there is a serious case of sleep deprivation, taking a nap may be vital for physical health. Even napping for a half an hour at home could help students catch up on any lost sleep. Every bit counts.
4. Work out. If there is some pent up stress or anger from having to go to school everyday for a full five weeks, working out, whether it be cardio, weight lifting, yoga, pilates, etc, releases endorphins that make people happy and calm.
5. Get work done during school. By finishing work in seminar classes, lunch time, or free time allotted by teachers, it alleviates the amount of work that has to be completed at home. Having more time means more naps or a longer night of sleep.
6. Wear comfy clothes to school. No one really cares what other people look like if they’re just as exhausted. Jumping out of bed into a comfortable outfit will reduce the amount of time it takes to get ready in the morning. Likewise, it’s much nicer being comfortable while sitting through a lecture about natural logs and the structure of the brain.
7. Take a day off. If stress has driven students to the brink of a breakdown or an illness, then a rest day may be in order. If the stress has become so monumental that it is having a physical toll on the body, then students should see a doctor and receive a prognosis. They might just call for a rest day.
8. Get ahead on work. In most Advanced Placement classes, teachers will give a list of homework and the day the each assignment is due. For these classes, jumping ahead, even a little bit, can relieve some of the heft in the future and, thus, cause less stress.

It will be quite difficult getting through March without having some kind of breakdown. However, by making a regimen out of some of these tips and other productive habits, it will make the month go by more quickly or, if nothing else, with less stress.