By YooJin SHEEN, intern

Summer vacation, which started last month for most schools within the Glendale Unified School District, does not always mean time spent in the sun for students. In fact, about 30 different summer school classes will be winding up tomorrow, Friday.

Summer classes offered included various academic subjects including math, science, English, history, and electives but do not include any Advanced Placement classes. The first of two semesters of summer school began on June 9 and, due to the limited amount of days during the summer, students are in class from 7:30 a.m. to 12:50 p.m. for days of intense study.

“Summer school is, simply put, long and demanding. A lot of hours are put into hard work,” said sophomore YuYoung Suh. “You’ll either make it or break it, study or fail.”

The reasons students take these classes are diverse. Some wish to earn credits for graduation or to make up for any failing grades they earned during the past school year. Grace Oh, a senior at Crescenta Valley High School, chose physical education during the summer to make up for credits needed for graduation.

“I basically go to summer school twice a week and record my physical education. We often write summaries and opinions about health, too,” said Oh about her workload.

Others take summer classes in order to get ahead of the upcoming school year by taking prerequisite classes. Anna Shim, an incoming freshman at CVHS, took summer school biology in order to be eligible for advanced courses during the regular school year.

“There was a lot of work and I hated waking up early, especially in the summer, but it was worth it,” Shim said.

The regular school year begins for GUSD students on Aug. 11.

  YooJin SHEEN