School has returned and as with previous school years, this one started with improvements and changes. Students started class this fall in a trimester schedule.
As the name suggest, a trimester schedule divides the school year into three segments; the first trimester ends on November 17th, the second trimester runs from November 20th to February 22nd, and the third goes from February 26th to May 30th.
Such a schedule has never before been used at SVHS, and so far many students seem unhappy with this new rearrangement. A junior stated that this change makes schoolwork “really hard with sports, like actually impossible”.
Why did administration even implement this new schedule in the first place? Inadequacies with the old alternating block schedule prompted the change. According to counselor Mr. Hale, “[teachers] wanted math everyday, shorter class periods . . . the block schedule and having Fridays off don’t go together so those are probably the biggest reasons”.
Now that school has been in session for almost a full month, students have formed varying opinions about the new schedule. According to several anonymous sources, “It’s giving us a lot more homework, and you cannot get anything done.”
One senior said that the new schedule and “shorter class periods make it harder to keep up with your work.”
After talking to many students and teachers, Hale has found the main complaints to be shorter lunch periods, originally 40 minutes and now 37 minutes (3 minute difference), and the lack of time to get homework done. Additionally, the school day ends 10 minutes later than it did last year. Not much of a difference, but some still aren’t happy.
On the other hand, others are happy with the shorter class periods. Last year, each class was 93 minutes long, or 1 hour and 33 minutes. Classes are now 63 minutes long. This allows students to take two more classes each trimester than they could each semester last year and earn more credits at the same time.
There is really no exact consensus on the feelings about the new school schedule. Students have less time to do work during class; that is tough, especially for those who play sports or work; however, for the time being trimesters will be the schedule going forward, so students and staff must make the best of it.
