The good news is out: Next year many students might have shorter school days. For seniors, there will be a new program that will make the school year a more enjoyable one. The idea behind “Minimum Day Participation” is that if a junior has all of the required credits to graduate they can either leave early or arrive late to school once their senior year begins. This means that students will now have the opportunity to get more sleep than usual or even do more school work, right? It presents a chance for students to make better use of their time than if they had to take an elective that might just bring them down.

This program came about because of student requests and PTSA efforts.  “I have always had one extra class during the school year and I end up using it for other classes anyway. It’s good to see change being made in real time, especially when it benefits all of us,” said junior Will Butler.

Once implemented, mornings will likely become a much more productive time for some students with those extra hours of sleep. “I may actually be able to get sufficient sleep, even with an IB schedule. It is very exciting,” said junior Ian Balish

This flexible agenda not only gives students more time for their own endeavors, including any after school internships or jobs but also it would make those who would have had a class full of busywork more productive when their schedule consists solely of important core classes.

The “Minimum Day Participation” program will let seniors students omit courses that would be unnecessary to their graduation. It will open up work experience opportunities for seniors and make the school day overall a better experience. Sometimes doing the minimum can give us the time and motivation we need to do the most.