Jude Magnotti ’26
EE Co-Managing Editor
With a new school year fully in swing, students have had a chance to learn and adapt to all the different trials and tribulations that they will each face in their respective year. Students are slowly but surely making it to their classes on time, finding friends to sit with at lunch, and of course getting used to the massive piles of homework they take home with them every afternoon.
With that being said, the year has barely started and there is still plenty for students to adjust to in the coming months. The most notable of these challenges yet to be fully understood by students (new and old) is the new “Drop” schedule introduced this past year.
Previously, students and teachers alike ran on a standard 8 period school schedule. Students would alternate health and gym depending on the day, but aside from that the days for most students pretty much stayed the exact same. For some, this was a blessing as it allowed them to get into a consistent routine of what they were doing day after day. For others, it became a bother as students complained about the constant repetition and the days continuously blending into one another.
As a result, this past school year (2023-2024), THS decided to implement a school wide schedule switch from the standard 8 period plan, to a “drop two periods” every day approach. This change confused students as well as teachers as it entailed dropping a specific set of periods each day. For example, on A Day the school would drop periods 7 and 8, while on B day the school would drop 5 and 6 and then so on and so forth. While the change seemed redundant at first, many students began to view the new schedule as a welcome surprise.
The same students who complained about the repetition of the previous plan were now appeased by the alternating and ever changing nature of their classes. Despite a nearly 20 minute increase in the duration of each class, most students actually found that the days went by quicker with only six periods in a day. As such, days seemed shorter, classes became easier, and much of the student body was pleased with the decision.
With that being said, there are still a number of students who would prefer a transfer back to the previous schedule. While 6 periods in a day is certainly an upside, some students with shorter attention spans found it impossible to sit in each class for an entire hour each day. Additionally, students complained about the constant confusion that came with having different classes in different spots each day. Even something like the lunch periods were now criticized for being shortened an entire 15 minutes from the previous year. If you are one of these students, believe me you have nothing to worry about as long as you stay organized. Here are a few tips I like to use help me manage my time within the new system:
1: Make sure you know what the schedule is before the start of each day.
It is a hassle to have to be constantly checking your schedule every period just to see what class you have next. As such, you want to get into the habit of checking Saturn or infinite campuses each day before school in order to see what the order of your classes looks like. After a while, it will become repetitive and you will be aware of what the schedule is each day.
2: Always make note of whenever you have a study hall.
A study hall can be a powerful tool for getting work done if used properly. If worked into a system, one can get almost all of their homework done in just one study hall if their time is managed correctly (especially with hour-long periods!). However, don’t rely on just your study hall in order to get work done. With the drop schedule, you might plan to come in to do work in study hall for a class one day then realize you don’t have a class at all. Always be aware of when your study hall is so that you can plan assignments and work around it accordingly.
3: Don’t procrastinate outside of class!
If you have time to work on an assignment in class, use it!! Being able to complete work in class is one of the most productive things you can do for yourself. If you simply use the free time that a teacher gives you, you can get so much in class work done without causing yourself any future stress about the assignment. This applies to outside the classroom just as much. The best thing you can do for yourself is to get your schoolwork done when you know you can! Ironically, the very people who are trying to avoid stress by procrastinating are creating more stress for themselves when they get stuck writing an essay at 11:30 at night. Getting things done in the immediate moment will always save you stress down the line. While getting over procrastination is not an easy thing to do, just even simply working one assignment when you get home instead of watching TV will pay off so much not just for your grades, but for your mental health as well.
4: Finally, get some sleep!!
This one may seem obvious, but most teenagers barely even get a few hours of sleep a night. I know that adults say it to us all the time, but our bodies are growing and they need sleep to be active and be able to process new and existing information. Without sleep, most students just turn into degenerate zombies sleepwalking their way through both morning and afternoon classes. I know you want to stay up, but if you just sacrifice a few more scrolls, a few more pages, or a few more videos, you can greatly improve not just how well you do in school, but how well you feel in general. 8 hours might sometimes be unrealistic for certain teens, but even if you could just get 7 hours a night it makes a BIG difference. Trust me.
With all that said there, use everything you need to know to succeed with the new schedule. Obviously, these few methods alone won’t guide you to being a straight A student. However, if you put in plenty of hard work combined with some of these tactics and some clever time management, then you could very well be on your way to bringing home the grade both you and your parents want. In case you are at all confused with the schedule I have included a photo of the actual schedule from the Trumbull High website that you can save or memorize to further help with the very tedious task that is surviving high school.