Midterm Madness!

Guess the Mystery Staff Member

The first person to send the correct guess to thepredatornewspaper@williamsoncentral.org via email will win a cool prize! There is a limit of one guess per person.

Congratulations to Ms.O'Hara for guessing Day 1 Person 1 and Day 2 Person 2 correctly! Ms.Schillaci was Day 1 Person 1: her favorite sport is water skiing slalom and she once saw Harrison Ford on Rodeo Drive in California! Day 2 Person 2 was Mrs.Petrucci: she is from Michigan and has a famous brother-in-law!

There is still time to guess Day 2, Person 1!

Guess Who

Day 3

1) This staff member was on the women's swim team for all of her four years in college and was captain her senior year.

2) They also were nominated into the Pok-O MacCready hall of fame two summers ago.

Your Options

Mme Heller, Mrs.Schauf, Mrs.Bodak, Mrs.Zimmerman, Mrs.Opett, Mrs.Greco, Mrs.Orr, Mrs.Davis, Ms.O'Hara, Ms. Chaya, Mrs.Lock, Mrs.Craft, Mrs. Moore, Mrs.Briggs, Mrs.Luke

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Day 2, Person 1

This staff member was an intramural badminton champion in college.

Your Options

Mr.Weeden, Miss Boulet, Mrs.Plyter, Mr.Sherman, Mrs.Fisler, Mrs.Foss, Mrs.Western, Mr.Hollembaek, Mr.Kingsbury, Mr.White, Mrs.Petrucci, Dr.Avery, Mrs.Bodak, Mr.VanHoover, or Mrs.Upson

Study Tips

  • Set a goal for yourself. What grade would you like to receive on your test? How much time do you want to study for your test? Setting a goal for yourself is one of the most effective forms of self-motivation.

  • Envision yourself achieving your goal. If you truly believe that you can do something, then you are more likely to do it. Believe in yourself!

  • Create a study schedule and stick with it. Make sure that your plan is realistic and includes some breaks. If you have a plan, you are more likely to stick with it.

  • Only study what you need to review. Focus on what you need to improve upon. There is no point in wasting your time studying material that you already know.

  • Listen to your teachers. If your teacher says that something will be on the test, then study it because it will be on the test!

  • Study until you feel reasonably confident. Being comfortable and familiar with the material is a good indicator that you're ready.

  • "Know thyself." How do you study best? What are your weaknesses? Once you know your habits, you can have a better idea of the best way to tackle those tests.

  • Take care of yourself. This is often overlooked, but is the most important tip for success. If you don't get enough sleep, your brain will fog up and won't perform its best. Also, make sure you eat enough so hunger doesn't distract you. Exercise improves brain function, so being active will improve your mood and help you earn the grades you deserve.

How to Handle Stress

  • The best way to combat stress is to address what is stressing you out. If you are stressed about your midterms, then study until you feel comfortable with the material.

  • Repeat positive affirmations to yourself. Change your negative self-talk to positive self-talk.

  • Exercise. Physical activity improves brain function and mood.

  • Try progressive muscle relaxation. This is where you tense each muscle group and then release the tension to feel instantly relaxed. You can do this anywhere. Here’s a link to a guide that will help you get started: https://psychcentral.com/lib/progressive-muscle-relaxation/

Watch this cute video of hamsters eating tiny burritos!

Ten Tips to be Successful on Midterms

1)Divide up your studying. Instead of studying for everything at once, prioritize based on how prepared you are for each subject, and how long you have before an exam.

2)Create your own study guide. Writing down key information instead of re-reading from notes will help you remember more information during the test.

3)Simplify your notes. Long, descriptive notes can be helpful, but when it’s time to study it is overwhelming. Highlight or rewrite key ideas and concepts can make it less overwhelming to memorize.

4)Study with friends. Studying in groups can be distracting, but if everyone is focused on the same topic, it can be extremely beneficial. While helping others, someone else might explain something that previously confused you, in a way you understand.

5)Study in different locations. Constantly studying in one place can get boring and lead you to become unmotivated.

6)Although studying is important, don’t sacrifice your health. If you can’t decide if you should stay up all night or sleep, sleep is the better option. It’s a lot easier to take a test with energy and an alert brain, than if you had stayed up all night and exhausted your brain to the point of not remembering anything you studied.

7)While taking a test, underline or highlight keywords in the question to help differentiate what is necessary information and what is extra.

8)Before looking at the optional answers, write down what you think the answer is immediately after reading the question. This will prevent you from falling victim to trick answers.

9) Never second guess yourself. A majority of the time, your first instinct is right. Even if you have no idea what the answer is, whichever option you first think is correct is better than not choosing an answer altogether. If you at least guess, you have a 25% chance of being right whereas leaving it blank, you have absolutely no chance to be correct.

10) If all else fails, watch a few Crash Courses on Youtube and give it your best shot! You’ll do better than you think you’re capable of if you just believe in your self.