This school year, THS enacted a new schedule with only four classes each day, allowing a total of eight classes to be taken instead of the previous seven. Now, almost halfway through the school year, students have formulated their opinions on the schedule, and the question is: is the new schedule better than the old one?

While some, like junior Eric Panuela, have said that the longer class period “can get boring as it drags on,” most students have found that the longer classes are more productive than the previous length. Freshman Emily Flickinger said, “Time is normally not wasted as much as during 45 minute class periods, so we get more work done.” About having four different classes every day, sophomore Matt Vorsteg stated, “I prefer it because I take two music classes, and 90 minutes jazz one day and 90 minutes classical the other is so much more efficient than 45 of each daily.”

On being able to take one more class than in previous years, a majority of students have said they enjoy the extra class. Junior Ivian Lewis, remarked, “I like the change because I’m able to take multiple music classes and academics.” Senior Ilona Wittenberg still only takes seven classes total, and she said, “I like getting to go home early some days.”

Most students have also said that the workload has become easier to manage. Ninth-grader Nick Anderson said that the new schedule allows for “more time for review between periods.” Junior Eric Panuela has also said, “You get an extra day to finish homework, which is good. And you can plan out what to do to prepare for the next day.”

A few students have said that they do not like the new schedule. For example, when asked if he thought that overall the schedule was better, Senior Brian Seyler said, “No, not for music classes, people don’t play every day.” However, most other students thought it was a good decision, whether it was because of the more efficient periods, the extra class, the more manageable amount of work, or a combination of all three. Overall, the new A-Day/B-Day schedule seems to have been a success.