Adapting to change can be a struggle for most people and as students continue into the semester, new rules are something everyone is trying to adjust to at school. From the freshmen who are learning the ways of high school to seniors who are adapting the ups and downs of the new rules, everyone is all in this together. Principal Tim McCarthy has decided to enforce three new rules, although some would argue there are five.
The first of the new rules is the lockdown on tardies. The rule is after a student gets five tardies from any class, they will receive an after-school detention. The rule is put in place to keep students accountable and to encourage punctuality.
“The vast majority of our students understand where they are supposed to be at what time. By putting in this new rule, we can ensure that anyone who doesn’t understand can catch on to the idea that in the real world, it’s important to be where you’re supposed to be at the time you are supposed to be,” said McCarthy.
Not only is being punctual a life skill, but it’s an essential part of being a college student. There aren’t tardies in college, but if you miss a part of class, then you miss a part of the lesson that may be valuable. Amy Grich, 11th grade-level principal, emphasizes this point when students ask her the reason behind this rule.
“Being in class is important. We want everyone to achieve a good education, and that looks different for all but when it comes down to it, a big part of achieving that is being in class on time,” said Grich. “It helps you get ready for the real world, and in college when you’re paying for your education, it’s not in your favor to be missing parts of a class that you are paying to be in.”
Being on time for Ac Lab is important as well. In the past, students could pop in and out of as many classes as they please. Now due to responsive scheduling, students have a place to be at a certain time. Students now sign up for two classes to go to during the two modules of Ac Lab. If a student is not in the class they are supposed to be, they will be marked absent. Grich recognizes that this is a big shift but thinks it will pay off.
“I would say it is a learning experience for the teachers and the students doing it, but I know [Parkway] West [High school] and [Parkway] South [High school] utilize it as a way to help students prioritize and manage their time for academic labs so that they can get the best out of that time,” said Grich.
For sophomores, juniors, and seniors though, this new rule is definitely taking time for students to adjust. Seniors with a colt pass must wait before they can leave for Ac Lab. Senior Sean Murphy realizes that despite this, there are some pros to the new rule.
“When it comes to Ac Lab, it is kinda annoying that we can’t leave those first 20 minutes but it could be a lot worse so I take that with a grain of salt,” said Murphy.
The rule has been an idea amongst the principals for a while.
“Our hope is that it provides more structure and healthy accountability. This rule came from last year, we need more kids to be in class and not wandering around the halls,” said McCarthy.
Not only does this rule help kids stop wandering the halls, but so does a different rule that is directed towards teachers. Instead of having planning periods, teachers are now assigned to different spots of the school to serve as hall monitors. Some teachers, like math teacher Alexandria Elder, are stationed quite far from their classrooms. Elder’s classroom is in the art wing and she is placed in the “T” hallway. Despite the distance, Elder doesn’t mind the location.
“I like being at the ‘T’ because I get to see so many friendly faces walk past me each day,” said Elder.
Along with hall monitors keeping kids out of the hall, teachers have started using bathroom passes to encourage students to stay in class. The logic behind it is if students are carrying around a big bulky pass everytime they leave the classroom, they won’t want to leave at all unless they absolutely need to.
“I think more teachers should have huge wacky hall passes because that would improve my hall monitoring time significantly by making me laugh,” Elder said.
Students need a pass for the hallway and for the parking lot. It has always been a rule that a student needs to purchase a parking pass to drive to school and park in the lot. The past few years many students have parked without a pass and haven’t gotten a penalty. This year McCarthy and Officer Kaatmann are really working hard to enforce this rule this year.
“The expectation is that you get your parking pass within the timeline we set or you should not be parking at school, and if you do park without a pass you’ll get a fine,” McCarthy said. “This has always been the rule but I will definitely say we are following through on our word more than we did last year by going out in the lot and checking for cars without passes.”
Students can argue that bathroom passes and parking passes are new rules but in reality, they have always been rules. There is just more time and action being put into these rules to highlight the importance of them.
