New Schedule

Whether you’re wandering the halls in the morning, or locked in your homebase with nothing to do, the new schedule is a big adjustment for everyone in the SHS community. Students and faculty at Scituate High School entered the 2015-16 school year dealing with a very controversial adaptation to the school’s schedule.

During the final days of the 2014-15 school year, the faculty voted in favor of the new schedule. After hearing the possibility of a new schedule, the students were excited for the most part. Getting away from the constant routine sounded great. Others were more skeptical; the consistency of a non-changing schedule can be comforting.

First of all, it is important to recognize the reasons for the changes to the schedule. One important change is the 28 minute “H Block” after lunch and before the last period. Mr. Luette, the school’s assistant principal and athletics director, said that the H Block is supposed to help with “teacher collaboration”, which would enable them to work together and evaluate their students’ abilities. Before, teachers were forced to teach classes alone but now, it seems that H Block allows teachers to teach other classes indirectly..

In addition, Mr. Luette hoped that H Block could give students more freedom. He, along with the rest of the administration, has made it a three phase process. Phase one will force students to stay in their home base for the entirety of the block and work on homework. Phase two will allow students to go to different teachers and classrooms without a pass . Phase three offers the most freedom because it will allow students to roam the campus . This is concerning because some students might abuse the power and act against the school’s code of conduct.

Mr. Luette also touched upon the new late start every Wednesday. To clarify, the new schedule has students starting their first class on Wednesdays at 8:53 instead of 7:45. The vice principal said that it’s “easier to bring students in later than take them out earlier.” Teachers do not have this hour off from school, which gives them even more time to collaborate. Mr. Luette also said that the new schedule as a whole would provide more structure to the classrooms.  

Other teachers have a similar view on H block. Ms. Hallihan, math teacher and community service club leader, is a fan of H block saying “It’s a nice break from school. It gives me time to build a relationship with the kids in my homeroom”. Mr. Scavotto, English teacher, disagrees. Scavotto strongly stated that he believed the schedule was too fast paced, and he misses long block because there is no time for creativity in class.

The students aren’t quickly accepting the new schedule, either.  Senior Kevin Benkart was annoyed at first because he no longer had homeroom at the beginning of the day. In years past, homeroom allowed students to arrive later but not get marked late. It functioned like a cushion, allowing everyone at the school to settle into the day softly rather than jumping straight into first block.

After a couple of weeks with the new schedule, he says that he “likes the new schedule.” Kevin believes the new H Block after lunch provides a nice down time in the middle of the day Junior Lily Ryan,  agreed with Benkart, saying, “I like that it breaks up the day. That last class can be very painful sometimes.” However, Ryan added that H Block is “a big waste of time. There isn’t enough time to accomplish anything.”. Senior Kim Elliot has similar negative views on the new schedule. She said “phase one of H block is unnecessary.” Additionally, she thinks it’s “good to change but inconvenient for upperclassmen.”