Starved, exhausted, dehydrated. When will third period end?

With the implementation of the new bell schedule, students have been showing mixed reactions. Students now have a short 10-minute break between second and third period instead of enjoying activity period and lunchtime, which have both been postponed to after third period. While many students complain that this schedule leaves them hungry after second period, the new bell schedule is ultimately beneficial to the student body as it leaves them feeling less tired because students only have one remaining period after lunch until the end of the day.

One major problem in previous years was that many students often drowned in sleepiness, having had to take two courses after lunchtime. However, there are debates within the student community regarding which is worse: feeling tired or being hungry. Fortunately for the new bell schedule, with a quick break in between classes, students have the opportunity to purchase snacks to bring to their classes. Being hungry for an hour is much better than students missing a learning opportunity by falling asleep.

Even if we see that the new schedule has significantly decreased the number of students falling asleep during class (especially the later ones), is this due to the new schedule or just because everyone is not yet sleep deprived during the first month of school? Going through classes in the new schedule is a mental struggle for students who must withstand the hunger and tiredness for three periods.

The SIS leadership team has a duty to implement policies that best accommodate the students. That means the school has an obligation to listen to both sides: those who like and dislike the new bell schedule. Like most issues go, a few opinions are located on the lower and upper extremes of support and the majority are situated in the middle.

Looking at the overall benefits brought by the new schedule, the balance beam seems slightly more tilted in support of it, as it seems to be that there are more benefits than harms for this new approach to the school day. As soon as everyone gets adjusted, the students will most likely move toward the general consensus of agreeing to the benefits of having only one period left after lunch. So if students are slowly adapting, is this a successful policy implemented by the school in the long run? Yes, but only if we eat bigger breakfasts.