Students with several different schedules are learning new ways to manage their time and navigate the new online alternate learning plan during the pandemic. 

Currently, many students are still carrying out activities outside of school such as work, clubs and sports. The new learning plan has caused the first semester to work differently than previous years, with a new system for how many classes are taken and how the new schedule works, and with those changes comes a new way for students to manage their time. With differing schedules, students handle their time differently to get their schoolwork done. Sophomore Allison Roberts said that she has time to do her school work, and gets everything done by prioritizing her schedule. 

“I am required to attend all athletic practices, like tennis which ranges from 3:15-6:30 including game commutes, then I attend either my dance or silks practices which end around 9:30. This allows me to start homework at 10 p.m., so when teachers offer class time for homework, I utilize that time as much as possible,” Roberts said. 

In the new learning plan, the normal seven class schedule was split into two quarters, the first with four classes and the second with three. Senior Paige Kelley said the quarter system helps her manage her time because she has less work to complete each night.

“I really like the idea of having the split up classes between quarters because online classes seem to have a lot of homework, which would be really hard to manage if we were to have all seven classes at one time,” Kelley said. 

Another new addition to the alternate learning plan is the late start every Monday. In previous years there were late start Mondays every other week to once a month, where school started around 10 a.m.; however, this year, school starts at noon each Monday. Several students have said that starting later on Mondays has helped them catch up on sleep and stay up to date on assignments. Freshman Darya Weintz said that she liked starting late on Mondays because she is able to sleep in.

 “I think that starting at noon on Mondays is pretty fun. We get to sleep in a little bit and work on work that we might need to complete,” Weintz said.