Doherty is no stranger to schedule changes. Last year’s schedule compared to this year alone is dramatically different for better or worse. However, despite changes in the day, the format for the year had stayed the same.
For next year’s format, things have been changed. One of the biggest changes is that there is going to be a week off in mid-October for fall break. However, unfortunately this means that summer break is going to end a week early.
Students had differing opinions on the news. Sophomore Noah Gorski says, “The problem with that for me is I do marching band, and marching band camp is at the end of summer. However, it also would be useful because we have activities in October. Ultimately I’d rather have a longer summer.”
This is an interesting part of this subject. With so many different clubs and sports going on, would this schedule change cause many things to be pushed back? Well, hopefully not. Since it’s only a week-long break and summer is being shortened a week, hopefully certain activities would only be pushed back a little bit or not at all and if they are pushed back hopefully they’d be able to get back on track quickly.
There were some differing opinions on this though. Junior Sabrina Cummings says, “I think the fall break is a good idea so I like the fall break better.”
Being able to have a relaxing week off early in the year after a hectic first quarter of school may be a good idea. This way students can get a break and chill out for a little bit. This could help students to focus and do even better in the second trimester.
Fall breaks are actually common in many universities and colleges; however, it is not nearly as common in elementary, middle, and high schools. However, more and more schools lately have been implementing them into the schedules, particularly middle and high Schools. Doherty is of course now one of these high schools.
Fall breaks have some great benefits, like giving more time to spend with family and friends and focus on hobbies. However, there are some disadvantages, like possibly disrupting club activities and of course shortening summer, which although only by a week still leaves some students who wanted to enjoy the whole thing a bit disappointed.
With this year now almost over and more changes many may be reflecting on the schedule from this year compared to last year. Sophomore Landon Smith says, “Last year was way better. This year teachers can’t teach as well. People got more knowledge last year. This year is harder, especially on teachers.” A common complaint on the current schedule is that teachers either give way too much work and no one can finish it in time or give too little work and students finish it in thirty minutes and then still have an entire hour of just sitting there.
On the other hand, one benefit of the current schedule is more time in class to catch up on things. For classes like culinary where there are often projects that take awhile longer classes are helpful.
So many people have differing opinions on subjects like this. Many like the old schedule better and many are happy with our current schedule. Many people want the fall break and think that it can be a chance to refresh; however, many may also rather just have a longer summer.
