Get ready to put down the study guides and throw away your homework. It’s almost summer time!

Everyone is getting to the point that they can almost feel the bright rays of the sun on their skin and smell the chlorine in the swimming pools.

Lots of students and staff already have plans for the 83 days they are away from school. Anything from training for and/or coaching sports to taking an amazing vacation with friends and family.

“I plan on working out and getting ready for next football season,” Jacob Wilburn, senior, said. As Wilburn is getting ready to head out to college, he has a constant plan for training and conditioning.

Easten Garrett, senior, has the same idea as Wilburn, stating that he will be “playing a lot of baseball.”

But summer isn’t just for training. A lot of students and staff have plans to travel during the break.

“I’ll be heading down to Florida to visit my grandma,” Calista Gawlak, sophomore, said, “doing some art and going sight seeing.”

On the other hand, Shelly Bright, Spanish teacher, will be staying closer to home with her vacations.

“I’ll be going on family vacations (Colorado) and dressing my daughter in obnoxiously cute outfits,” Bright said.

Many other students have commented they’ll be traveling to Colorado at some point during the break. Lots of families and friends like to take trips there because of how convenient it is and all of the activities available to them.

“I’ll probably be heading to Colorado for a family trip. We will probably go hiking,” Kaeden Fellingham, freshman, said.

While most students and staff who are planning to travel are staying in the United States, others are planning to go out of the country to explore new places.

Jenny Sun, junior, is planning on going to Taiwan and China.

“I’m going to Taiwan to volunteer to teach English, and I’m going to China for fun,” Sun said.

Volunteering is another major activity taking place this summer. Just like Sun, Kiersten Herzog, junior, is also going out of the country to volunteer.

“I’ll be going to Mexico to volunteer at a hospital in Valladolid in Yucatan Peninsula,” Herzog said.

Another form of volunteering takes place through mission trips, just like the one Avery Collins, sophomore, is going on.

“I’ll be going to Texas for a mission trip, helping with a food pantry and building a ranch home,” Collins said.

While some are going out of town for vacation or for mission trips, many students and staff plan to stay home have built up their schedule of what they’re going to be doing.

“I will be lifeguarding as a sub guard for all Olathe pools, teaching swim lessons at Emler swim school, working with a lady with Down Syndrome, and volunteering at Children’s Mercy Hospital,” Steffi Ladzinski, senior, said.

Some other students plan on spending their time helping out by working as coaches or somebody who regulates the game at hand.

“I plan on umpiring a lot and hanging out with friends,” Andrew Edrington, senior, said.

Planning on working is a good way to pass the time, but some students and staff just planning on relaxing during the summer months.

“I’m not planning on traveling, staying here with friends and family,” Zack Skaggs, junior, said.

Vicki Kohl, English teacher, will be spending her summer at the theater, going to Hudson Valley Theater and seeing Shakespeare in Massachusetts and other places with friends, all while doing homeowner projects.

A lot of the staff and students are excited for summer to get here. With lots of plans and traveling, this summer could not be coming fast enough.