The end of first semester is approaching quickly- a lot faster than previous years.  This school year, a new bell schedule was put into place. Instead of the semester ending in the middle of January, it now is ending on the 20th of December.  As a student who has attended Laguna Beach Unified School district for three years, it feels strange to have finals before Winter Break. Students are used to having a fairly relaxed workload with a few tests here and there right before the break. Although I’m not used to having finals before the holiday break, I am excited to enjoy my break and not have to worry about studying for finals. It’s refreshing to have December 20th end the semester and not have to worry about completing any work over the two week break period.  Students are put under a lot of pressure during finals week. Before this year, we only had three days of rest after finals week. It’s reassuring and inspiring to know that I will have two weeks to recover after a week filled with long, and stressful tests.  

The school has adopted a cascading bell schedule, in addition to a shorter 1st semester.  In comparison to the first semester, the second semester will seem slightly longer. While getting used to the schedule was confusing at first, I have come to really enjoy the new cascading bell schedule. I am a student who takes both a zero period and a sixth period. I enjoy having classes 1-5 only three times a week because it cuts down homework.  Initially, having both a zero and sixth was tiring. I arrive at school every day at 7:15 and leave at 3:30, but leaving at 3:30 is still earlier than the time my sport will end second semester. 

It’s a common belief among students that break (which is 5 minutes) is too short and lunch (which is 35 minutes) is too long.  At first, I thought that break was too short compared to the 10-minute break we had last year. Now, I have gotten used to the short break and long lunch and don’t have a preference.  I understand that the 35 minute lunch is probably beneficial to upperclassmen who leave campus during lunch. There will always be some people who don’t like our school’s schedule.  I think getting used to the schedule initially was difficult at first for many students. Personally, I like the new schedule because it cuts down on homework and the overall stress of students.