After many schedule changes this school year, we once again are forced to adapt quickly. Beginning on March 23, students will have the option to return to school full time for the rest of the year.

The new schedule allows for students to attend full-length, in-person classes. The schedule is almost the same as the 2019-2020 school year schedule, which many students are familiar with.

In-person classes will be offered Monday through Thursday, leaving Friday for remote cohort and help sessions. Students will also have a daily seminar/cohort session, which was previously removed to accommodate the lunch hour in the remote schedule.

Since this lunch hour is no longer built into the schedule, students will eat lunch in their third-hour block’s classroom. In the previous school year, each lunch period was 30 minutes long. 

For students like myself, who will finish out the year remotely, this decision is dismaying. Being at home gives me the option to choose a meal that I will enjoy eating, and the ability to make it myself. 30 minutes is not enough.

Depending on  my meal choice, it can take anywhere from 15-30 minutes just to make. This leaves me with hardly any time to eat. Some students also decide to run and grab food from their favorite restaurant, which they also cannot do anymore.

During the lunch hour, students also use it as a time to get some work done. Students can divide their time depending on their own needs. When we have seen a major improvement in the schedule, why would we go back to our old way?

Students have gotten a taste of how an hour lunch break has felt, and it’s being taken away from them. They have made it a part of their routines that were already hard to break in. Instead, we should build this back into our schedule, and even next year’s schedule.

Many schools already have a “Power Hour”, where students use an hour for lunch and whatever needs they might have.

Building this time back in the schedule would not only benefit remote students, but also hybrid students.

Students who have to transfer between the main building and the CTE building will be dealing with these negative effects.

After the process of loading, counting, and unloading everyone on the bus, students will only end up with about 10 minutes of seminar time. The hour is desperately needed to benefit the students.

Above all, this change is something that many students and staff members are looking forward to. It is a step forward in the long process of getting our lives back to “normal.”

Students will be able to see many of their peers which they haven’t seen in a while, and some even a whole year. Despite the cons of the situation, an hour for lunch will be smoother transition for students and staff who are eager to return to life as it once was.