Being back at school has been great, but came at the cost of a new schedule, which has been very different, as the classes are longer with built-in Office Hours. Students have mixed opinions about it. 

The Principal of the Middle School, Ms. Morton, stated that “the goal of this schedule was to reduce the number of people one person interacts [with] within a day” in response to the COVID epidemic. For example, we went from five or six classes a day down to four. She also said that the hardest thing to do was taking out all free and unstructured time, like fruit break or even going to lunch. One of the priorities has been trying to add back co-curriculars and extracurriculars, like sports and drama, to provide additional activities and outlets for students to enjoy. 

“The new schedule was a little demanding at the beginning of the school year because the classes were much longer, and it took energy from you,” says 8th grader Sam Wyler. Sam also said that he had from about two to three hours of homework every day and that he also felt it was easier to attend school from home because at home, materials are close by and easy to access. Last spring, he experienced being at home for school because everyone was at home, as it was not safe to go to school. “Being at home, you cannot get points taken off for work habits which provides an unfair advantage being at home.”

Even though most students have returned to campus this fall, some students still have to attend virtually. Nicknamed “Housecats,” students attending Zoom school from home have also had difficulties. 8th grader Rian Merchant said that “The new schedule has been working out well because I am still in the same environment,” and though he thought that the new classes were too long and he had too much homework, overall liked the new schedule better. 

Both Housecats and in-person students feel that the new schedule creates a heavier homework load. “Being at home, you cannot get points taken off for work habits which is an unfair advantage for Housecats,” offers Wyler. On the other hand, Merchant says that it is harder as a Housecat to finish homework because, “after the school day, I just want to be active since I have been sitting at a desk all day.” 

The new seven-day rotation is also a big change, resulting in planning mistakes and potential confusion. “It has been a bit difficult because I was so used to the other schedule, but I have never lost track of the days,” said Mr. Cutbirth. Moreover, the new schedule makes it harder to cover the curriculum. “My 8th-grade students are good, but it has been challenging with 6th grade to teach everything. I have assigned the same amount of 8th-grade homework, but have assigned less homework to the 6th graders. Overall it has been going fine, but it is frustrating having fewer classes.” 

Overall, students and teachers have mixed opinions about the new schedule, but everyone hopes to be able to go back to normal.