Many elements of the GA schedule have changed this year due to the pandemic. Most significantly, lunch has shifted from a 40 minute period to a 30 minute period. The shortened lunch period, and elimination of break, have been some of the greatest challenges brought on by the hybrid schedule. While the timing of lunch may not seem like a significant decrease, many students have found this to be quite an issue. Since class periods have now changed to a lengthy 55 minutes, many students find it difficult to focus and concentrate in that duration of time. As a result, an extended lunch time is necessary for students to put their minds to rest and interact with their friends.
On virtual days, when most of us are staring at a computer screen for nearly seven hours, the schedule can feel extensive and tiring. Many students tend to lose their focus in class, which negatively affects their education. If we shorten the ten minute transition time between classes on virtual days to five minutes, the day will feel shorter, and students will feel less tired. In my opinion, ten minutes feels like a longer period of time at home than in school. Although this change may, initially, be difficult to adjust to, many students will approve of the idea and would be willing to persevere through the sudden schedule change.
Furthermore, the period before lunch ends at the same time our lunch period begins, so students barely receive the full 30 minutes allotted for lunch. Students are expected to arrive at their assigned lunch location and eat within this short time. Often, to ensure they have adequate time to eat, students must also choose between safety measures, like washing their hands before lunch or leaving classes in a staggered manner. On virtual days, students who don’t prepare lunches ahead of time are expected to prepare their own lunch during the period as well as finish eating it. Furthermore, during a long and tiring 7-hour work day, a significant break period is necessary for students, especially since break no longer exists. SGA has been working to extend lunch by 10-15 minutes, or reinstate a 15 minute break period after the first two classes. They have proposed ideas that wouldn’t alter the schedule too drastically such as shortening the transition time between classes from ten minutes to five minutes and to move that extra time into break or lunch. While SGA understands that the schedule has already been set in place, they believe that the community will be able to adapt to the changes. After discussing this suggested schedule change with many GA upper school students, we are confident that students would enjoy a longer lunch period or reinstated break period. Ideas are still open for discussion, but we strongly hope that this change will be made.
