Skylar Weiss

Students add to and walk by a mural that reads “I am thankful for,” which serves as a Thanksgiving decoration, kicking off the holiday season.

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, the holiday season has begun for many in the Carlmont community.

The essence of the holiday season is prevalent once again; decorations are being sold in drugstores, eggnog is back in grocery stores, radio stations are playing holiday music, and retail stores such as Target are hosting special sales,  kicking off with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

“It definitely feels like the holidays are coming. Once it’s November or so, there are holiday commercials and tree lightings and things like that. Everyone kind of gets in that spirit,” said 11th-grader Kevin McGee.

Yet for some students, the holiday hype additionally serves as a distraction from school, making the time before finals and winter break seem like a stretch.

“It’s definitely harder to focus in school when all you can think about is winter break and how close it is. Because of Thanksgiving break, a lot of Carlmont kids probably won’t be that motivated to come back. I’m just super stressed for finals now,” said McGee.

Others, however, do not feel that the season affects their academic performance.

“The holiday season does not change my motivation in school because my school life is the same as it is any other time of year. The holidays don’t really affect my school life since I celebrate them more at home,” said 11th-grader Liz Boman.

To sophomore Emma Simmons, the time spent in school between Thanksgiving break and winter break serves as a long haul to finals.

“I feel like everything leads up to finals from this time on. My after-school job is most demanding during this time of year, and I feel like a lot of kids have plenty of things to do and extracurriculars after school as well, so it’s stressful having these big tests during all this chaos,” said Simmons.

Some students don’t mind the distraction due to their appreciation for the time of year.

“They might be a distraction from school, but the holidays are also a great time of year. I guess it’s better to focus on the positives; Christmas is exciting,” said 11th-grader Leah Auyoung.