Changes to Hamber’s Bell Schedule Leaves Students Confused

Teresa Chen

Students were surprised at the beginning of the school year by slight changes to the bell schedule that they had grown used to last year.

While school days and first periods started at 8:40 a.m. last year, the day has shifted to start five minutes earlier at 8:35 a.m.. The break between first period and second period is now 13 minutes long, extending it by four minutes from last year.

Classes also end a minute earlier than they used to, at 3:05 p.m. instead of 3:06 p.m.. As a result of this, the break between third and fourth period is a minute shorter, with the fourth block starting at 1:44 p.m. instead of 1:45 p.m. Many students reacted negatively to school days starting five minutes earlier, claiming that their morning routines are affected by this change.

“Even though it’s only five minutes [earlier], I have to wake up a lot earlier and get ready a lot quicker”, said Jaya Wood (10). Fatima Mcleod (10) also believes that it was a big change, as she “has to wake up an extra twenty minutes earlier to get on an even earlier bus.” Additionally, new students at Hamber and even some teachers feel unsure about this change.

“It’s a bit too early,” stated Jordan Tran (8), as his elementary school began at 9:00am. Ms. M. Lin (Modern Languages & Math), felt concerned for others because of this start time. “I find that it is okay most of the time, but if we’re looking at specific working families or families with other [children in school], it is too early.”

Students also found that the extension of the break between first and second period’s length was unnecessary, especially since it is now several minutes longer than the break between third and fourth period. Riley Chew (9) stated that the change “doesn’t affect me that much, just a bit weird that it’s uneven.” Mataya Gill (9) also thought that “it should be the same amount of time, but it doesn’t really affect anything.”

Several students, including Maya MacPhee-Kwan (11) questioned “why [the breaks] have to be at such random times”. Nikhita Hollihn (12) agreed, wondering why the second period can’t simply start at 10:10, as she finds it difficult to remember how long each break isand when class starts.

School ending at 3:05 p.m., a minute earlier compared to last year, also left students confused.

“I don’t understand why they had to make the change because it seems kind of nitpicky [and] it doesn’t really make a difference to anyone’s schedule,” Diya Iqbal (12) articulates.

“It’s just 60 seconds, it doesn’t really make a difference,” Amelia Chong (11) pointed out.

However, the return of FIT periods was celebrated.

“If we didn’t have it, I don’t know how I’d make it through school. It’s a mental break to collect yourself and see what [work] you have to do. It’s relieving to have that time,” Sienna Lawrence (10) stated. Many students reported using the FIT periods to catch up on homework and study for upcoming tests.

“It’s nice to have the self-studying time,” said Tiffany Chui (11). Chong agreed, emphasizing that “Learning time management is really important, so letting us have that free time to do whatever we want is always good.”

Something for the school to consider may be their decision to enforce students staying in either the cafeteria, a classroom, or the library.

Parissa Yee (11) expressed that she “[finds] that the caf is way too loud” and she “can’t focus no matter how hard I try to zone out.”