All junior, sophomore, freshmen, and incoming freshmen students at Hawthorne High School have been introduced to the new drop schedule for the 2013-2014 school year through assemblies, lectures, and numerous articles already posted in The Clarion. However, the students have different opinions on whether this change will be good or bad.
A big topic of interest for the student body regarding the new schedule is the innovative program that creates one central lunch period for the whole school, rather than the present schedule of four different lunch periods. Sophomore Ryan Gurriell expressed concern about the new lunch period. He said that he is afraid of the lines being too long due to all the students eating at once, which will reduce the time to actually eat lunch. However, HHS has a plan for this. Room 120 is being transformed into an additional lunchroom to combat any long-line issues. On the positive side, junior Hannah Van Der Eems said that now that all seniors have the same lunch period it will be great to enjoy the senior privilege of leaving school grounds during lunchtime with all their close senior friends–rather than just the few who happened to be scheduled in the same lunch period. Freshman Katie Salisbury agrees with Van Der Eems’ optimistic viewpoint adding that the new lunch schedule will provide for efficient eating time because people are always, “just sitting around anyway.”
Another area of focus is the extended class time that comes with the new schedule. Freshman Sara Vanderbrink said that she doesn’t like the extended length of classes and is concerned that students’ focus and attentions spans will not hold for the full 55 minutes. On the other hand, Sophomore Julia Zuckerberg believed that teaching time will be much more effective and that the extended classroom time will be well used. Junior Nicole Crilly agreed, stating that students will be able to complete schoolwork and perhaps have time to work on homework as well.
A typical aspect that students also comment on is the rotation of the drop schedule. Sophomore Paul Reilly observed that this schedule could be confusing and proposed that it would be easier if instead of having four different schedule days, the school should have five to correspond with the number of days in the week. Junior Hector Castillo stated that the rotation schedule will definitely make for some chaos, but people will adjust. Freshman Abbey Mercurio added, in a more positive light, “It will be a nice change of pace.”
On a completely positive note, an overwhelming amount of students are thrilled with the all the new classes and the additional period being implemented. Van Der Eems said the additional period will be great because the high school has newly required courses like Personal Finance and Communications. Previously, she said, this had been a problem as students were limited with electives, but the changes in the schedule now resolve this issue. Zuckerberg also believes the new courses are great as they allow “for students to explore careers through high school.” The new courses she is referring to include culinary, business, and film classes. Salisbury stated all the new classes will help provide variety through the schedule and will evoke interest in many students.
After gathering the facts and opinions from other students, I have certainly been able to back up my belief that the drop schedule will be a positive change to Hawthorne High School. The most difficult part will be getting used to the shift. Taking into consideration the new classes and the additional space for them, more effective class time, and the improved lunch system, this change is certainly moving HHS in a positive direction.