The end of the school year is fast approaching, and students across Pennsylvania are anxious for the final bell to ring. For high schoolers in the Bethlehem Area School District, stress can mount quickly as the hype for summer grows.

At Freedom, underclassmen exams take place on June 6 and 7. While the next two weeks are sure to be filled with review and intense studying, FHS seniors have a bit more to look forward to.

Exams for seniors begin this week and wrap up after Memorial Day. The long wait to walk across the stage at Stabler Arena and shake Superintendent Joseph Roy’s hand begins. In the time between exams and the graduation ceremony on June 6, graduating students will attend the Senior Breakfast and three commencement practice ceremonies in the school gymnasium. After graduates receives their diploma at Stable Arena, Freedom juniors will prepare to become the new leaders of the school.

This April, students voted to elect class officers for the upcoming school year. While candidates campaigned fiercely in all grades, the most intense race was by far the one between sophomores Jared Dowling and Alfredo Suarez. To achieve their goal of becoming junior class president next year, both students hung humorous campaign posters around the school. In the end, however, Suarez claimed victory and will work alongside senior class president Namrutha Kanakavelan to lead Freedom’s student council next year.

Student council is not the only governing body with influence on Freedom. A new policy, which many students feel was long overdue, was recently put into place by the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). Starting this year, Honors and A.P. students will no longer have summer homework for their classes. While the assignments were not particularly challenging, many students complained that the work was time-consuming and pointless.

Check back next school year for another update on Freedom HS.