by Phantom June 1st 2010, 1:40 pm
Depends on the school or the people in it, I guess.
In elementary school (with a chapel, school uniforms and rigorous rules), the end of the year would mean the traditional Mini-Olympics for the whole student body, and maybe watching a few movies during the day before the great graduation ceremony in which we bade farewell to the 6th grade class (usually presided over by the principal, the pastor, and sometimes the bishop).
In high school (a more urban public school with idiotic kids with possible gang affiliations, graffiti all over the place and inept teachers--at least for non-AP classes), the end of the year brought Finals Days, and depending on the class it would be two and a half hours of tests, or just kicking back and watching a movie. The 8th graders would be having a ceremony on the field, and the seniors would be going to the auditorium at PCC for graduation exercises.
I do remember that at the end of 8th grade we went to a local amusement center, and the bus rides to and from the place were total mayhem, such that one of the teachers pounded on the seats demanding that we shut the hell up or "YOU-WILL-NOT-GRADU-ATE!" Also, my senior prom was a wreck as well. Thank God I didn't go that, I was out seeing "Bruce Almighty" (good movie), and from what I heard, a girl from a different school fainted in mid-prom, and the school officials being the uptight blowhards that they were, brought a premature end to the whole thing. People were royally ticked off.
In college, the end of the quarter (yes, the quarter system, eleven weeks long per quarter) would also mean either a test or just turning in a final project, getting a critique and just being on your way. For the graduates, all five of them, there was the infamous Portfolio Show, in which local studios came by to see our best work and hopefully even offer jobs (none of them did), and then a few weeks later was the obligatory graduation ceremony.
