The 5:00 AM alarm blares underneath your pillow, warning you of what’s to come. But today isn’t as bad as the rest. The straps on your backpack aren’t weighing your shoulders down, and the extended time allows for you and your classmates to grasp the more challenging concepts in class. As time passes, you find yourself not staring at the clock as much, instead growing familiar with those who sit beside you. Before you know it, you’re back home, lounging in bed, awaiting the arrival of the next school day.

   At some point, we’ve all wished we had lockers. After all, carrying 6 classes worth of books, pencils, folders, binders and more is not for the weak. But when that number’s cut in half, it’s not anywhere near as bad. And from the freshman perspective, it makes the transition from middle school to high school a whole lot easier. Juliette Othon, a freshman eager for the block schedule, claims it makes navigating her way around the school easier too. “Middle school always had block schedule, regardless of the day. So coming into a whole new high school, with hundreds of unknown faces, and six completely different classes to work around, was pretty difficult for me. But I have to say, even though the hybrid schedule can become overwhelming at times, I’m glad we still have a couple block days each week!”

   While we’re on the topic of transitions, block scheduling indirectly guarantees that we all get a little more sleep (which we all know everyone needs)! By only having a few classes to prepare for each day, also comes the benefit of having limited work to come home to–and we all know it’s so much easier to focus on 3 subjects than all 6 at the same time. Trisha Villanueva, one of the seniors who’s been able to experience both sides of the argument, agrees that block scheduling has always been easier to manage, both at school and at home. “I found that I can focus better with only worrying about 3 classes, rather than trying to juggle all the information from all of my 6 classes combined.” It’s everyone’s main goal to prevent academic burnout at all costs, and it’s easy to fall into it during hybrid scheduling.

   That sinking feeling you get when teachers can’t even remember your name is the worst. And we’ve all experienced it at one time or another. But 2-hour long classes are the perfect guarantee to receive the intimate learning experience that you want and need. When junior Mia Olmedo compared her classes from last year to this year’s, she felt like her classrooms’ environments were more personal than they are now. Though she’s only just started her junior year, she admits to missing how personalized her classes felt. “Since periods go by faster this year, many of my teacher[s] try to force their students to retain as much information as possible in short periods of time. It can be stressful. With block scheduling, teachers wouldn’t rush their instruction, and the entire class would’ve had more opportunities to ask questions when it was needed.”

   At the end of the day, it’s clear that block scheduling makes our 8-hour days feel like just a few minutes. Without having to constantly be on your feet, or worry about which projects are due in the next hour, you can sit back, relax, and truly enjoy the true beauty of our school!