SHE SAID
Bijou Davant
Staff Writer
Next year, instead of starting at 8:50 a.m we will begin school at 9:00 a.m. Also school will end at 4:15 p.m. instead of 4:05 p.m. It’s not a big change to our schedule, everything will just be shifted forward ten minutes. The time change was approved by the NISD school board.
High schools and middle schools in the district are the last level to experience a time change, elementary schools have already changed their times and middle schools are also working on a time change.
Students will get home ten minutes later which will push their schedules back ten minutes so they don’t really gain anything from the change. Everything will happen later, so there isn’t a “increase” in sleep unless you sleep earlier. Ten minutes later is really no difference at all.The change isn’t essentially different.
In addition to this, the buses will have to go through more traffic causing more kids to come later to school since traffic will be heavier at this time. Also, kids will have to change their personal schedules to conform to the new bus times.
Seniors who have off periods for first, seventh and eighth are the least affected by this as off periods work around these times. With all these drawbacks in mind this time change is pointless with no benefits for the students.
HE SAID
Austin Hurt
Staff Writer
With school starting later students can now get a little more sleep, even if it is only ten minutes. Anything is welcome when you are tired, especially when sleep and the lack of it is the biggest complaint around the school.
Also having school end ten minutes later isn’t a terrible thing, especially for those who have off campus for eighth period. NISD has been growing for years with many new kids and neighborhoods being built so the time change can help with this influx of kids and inevitably, traffic. Helping those who ride the bus, hopefully next year busses will have an easier time of getting to school with extra time in between picking up and dropping off kids.The busses have trouble going between all the schools and dropping off kids which is plainly seen if you ride the busses, now it’ll be fixed.The kids who are dropped off by their families will also be helped with the traffic decrease.
All this being said, they have to push the time back in the evening if they push it back in the morning because of a Texas law. Texas schools must have students on campus a certain number of minutes per year so moving the times around keeps the minutes at school the same despite starting later. But at least now we get ten minutes extra sleep, thankfully.
This change is a welcome one for students who love to sleep without a huge price tag attached.