Some teachers at BCCHS this year opted to have their students take their finals before Christmas break. Their reasoning was that they did not want students to forget all of the things they had taught them over the break. This method, they say, allows for better results on finals and less stress for the students. For harder, faster-moving classes, this can be especially difficult. Both of the Spanish teachers at Billings Central, Sonia Alcantar and Lorena Dicken, gave early finals this year. Alcantar said, “Big props to [Sra.] Dicken, my partner in crime and fellow Spanish teacher, for cooking up this genius plan. I loved her idea, so we teamed up to make it happen. The goal? To keep that Spanish knowledge and vibe fresh in your minds and give you a breather to rock other subjects during finals week. We’re all about teamwork and making your school life a bit smoother.” On the other hand, an advantage of having the finals after break is that it allows for more studying time and more practice, but it is difficult to retain information from August into January.