What’s first today? Period three or period six? These are some common questions heard in SPA hallways this year. Students and faculty had to adjust not only to coming back from summer vacation, but also to a new rotating block schedule. Reactions varied as the Upper School managed to adapt. Here is what some consider to be the mixed, the not so great, and the best:

The Mixed:

The shorter lunch periods brought hesitant support. “It hasn’t bugged me yet, but last year, I definitely had time to work on homework and things in the same lunch period and I don’t know if I’ll have that time this year,” sophomore Will Donaldson said, “but that’s still okay.”

“Compared to the 75 minute periods, [the lunch periods] feel shorter than they probably are,” junior Mansuda Arora said.

“I don’t like to be rushed when I eat,” junior Kailey Wendlandt said.

Aside from lunch, other effects of the schedule haven’t brought as much positive change as some had hoped. The new schedule should result in less homework, and for some students, such as senior Alex Miller, it worked. “I’ve had less homework personally so that makes it so much easier to not be so stress out during sports practices,” Miller, who plays volleyball, said.

However, others felt that the homework load was close to the amount last year. “I’d say it’s about it same with the two days; it’s about the same amount that I’m putting in each night,” Arora said. Wendlandt noted that some classes’ homework, such as science, took her more than 45 minutes to complete.

The new structure for music electives is based on both a rotating eight day cycle and a weekly cycle. For example, orchestra meets for half a class period and two times a week during tutorial. “I don’t really like how we have to do more stuff during tutorial, but I don’t think it’s that bad,” Miller said, because she liked having half of her orchestra class period free.

The Not So Great:

The first few days of the new schedule were puzzling, especially since class times changed everyday. “It’s incredibly vexing,” Wendlandt said on the third day of school. “My schedule [sheet] is like my Bible right now.”

“I have a feeling that I’ll never know it,” Arora said. “I’ll never not need to look at my schedule.”

Other aspects of the schedule were also not too favorable. “I think [the lunch periods are] way too crowded; it’s really hard to find a place to sit,” junior Nicolas Koch said. His schedule also has an unusual balance of four classes on one day and two on the other. “It’s weird the way they set that up,” he said.

The Best:

For the majority of students, the last time they had a block schedule was back in Middle School. Although Donaldson said there isn’t too big of a difference, he believed the new schedule was more preferable to the block schedule he had experienced before due to the greater freedom upper schoolers have.

Donaldson also enjoys having the mandatory free period every other day in his schedule and finds the rotating aspect helpful. “Last year in the schedule I didn’t do as well in my really early morning classes because I’d be really tired,” he said. When choosing classes, he was also able to have one more elective than he would’ve taken with the old schedule.
The 75 minute free periods were praised by many:

“There’s a lot more free time,” Koch said.

“I really like how long the free periods are because I feel like they give me the time to actually do a full subject of homework, take a nap, or leave campus,” Miller said.

In class, the longer periods allow for more depth than before. “We get a long time for discussions,” Arora said.

For Upper School Science teacher Karissa Baker, the class periods have gone by faster than she expected, but with enough room to not feel rushed. “In Earth Science we’ve been able to do some things we haven’t been able to do before,” she said. Likewise, her Environmental Science class had enough time to walk to St. Catherine University and conduct a field study during one class period.

The late start on Wednesdays is also a favorite aspect of the schedule. “It was awesome,” Donaldson said of the first last start. “I got to wake up an hour later, and it was just ideal.”

“It was amazing; I did yoga in the morning,” Wendlandt said.

Overall, some of the bumps in the new schedule may straighten themselves out over time. “It hasn’t been perfect, but I think it’s a matter of getting used to [the new schedule],” Baker said.