Derek Neary
Northern News Services
Fort Simpson (Jun 15/01) - Students across the Deh Cho are in the midst of studying for departmental exams ... and battling to stay awake.
Falling asleep while reading tedious lines of text is something Georgette Bouvier admitted is not uncommon.
"Who doesn't?" asked the Grade 12 Deh Gah student, who hopes to graduate this year.
Well, fellow prospective grad Neil Bonnetrouge, for one. Of course, he hasn't exactly cracked the books for his departmental exams yet. He didn't do a whole lot of studying for his final science and English exams either, but said he felt fairly confident walking out of the classroom after completing those finals.
"I felt OK, just like a normal test," he said, adding he plans to begin using the study hall "tomorrow."
Bouvier, on the other hand, has already been devoting an hour each day to her studies, and has a socials departmental coming up in a few weeks.
"I just (study) when I'm not doing anything," she said, admitting that there are plenty of distractions at this time of year when the weather is so nice, not to mention bingo on the radio in the background.
Gabe Byatt, a Grade 12 student at Thomas Simpson school, doesn't exhibit any beads of sweat when discussing his upcoming English and biology departmental exams, which will account for a whopping 50 per cent of his overall mark. He's been reviewing his material regularly for the past month and a half, he said.
Ideally, every student should spend 20 minutes a night perusing text books and notes from each subject throughout the school year, he noted.
"That's if you don't want to be in a position to have to cram hard core for three days straight," Byatt said, smiling.
