Phew - End of Semester II

Not yet!
Image source: Endgadget.

Last evening I had my final class of the semester. It has been a long 14 weeks (includes two reading weeks) for both students and Faculty - now classes and tutorials are over for another academic year. For some students, this week's classes will have been their last classes in College ever. For me, it is about putting my notes and books back on the shelf until the beginning of the next academic year in September - which will be the 16th academic year for me in NCI. For the next 20 weeks it is not quite feet-up time - May (for me) despite no classes is always the busiest time of the year with exams and projects to be graded.

Traditionally, the end of semester II also marked the end of the academic year, but that is changing. One of my classes this semester started their academic year in January rather than the previous September - they will be continuing on to semester II over the summer. I don't envy them or their lecturers. Timetables, and the systems and people who support them, are more flexible than ever. We will all have to get used to this.

While I am happy that the semester is over, I am also a little saddened that classes are finished - it is by far my most favourite part of what I do. Students are now facing into exams (one of my exam papers is tough) - for them their learning is not yet complete. It's stating the obvious that I know how anxious students can get before exams - it is always a relief to me too when the exams are over!