It’s the time of the year when the days are shorter, and the weather gets colder. At Northwood, this means that it is time to switch over to our winter schedule. Instead of having co-curricular activities in the afternoon after classes, we switch it up and have co-curricular before our academic day begins.
The winter schedule features co-curricular activities in the morning most days with classes beginning after lunch.
If you ask around the community, you will get mixed opinions about the winter schedule, some good, others bad. To get some further insight into how our school is feeling about starting the new schedule next week, I asked three students for their opinions.
Junior Sophia Sherma says that she doesn’t “despise winter schedule, but it isn’t as good as the fall schedule.” Sophia is a NOC athlete and is also a part of the NSSC (Northwood Ski and Snowboard Club). She is “stoked” to start getting out on the mountain again. Snowboarding in the morning helps her mood throughout the day and her social life thrives, but her academic motivation is lowered throughout the season.
Emma Hathaway, a senior independent and day student, says that her schedule isn’t affected much by the switch, but it is harder for her to get to and from school since she lives far away. Since Emma commutes each day, she does “not have the same luxury of sleeping in like the boarding students.”
The last student I interviewed was Maya Wissler. Maya is a dancer, a day student, and a junior. Maya doesn’t like winter schedule for the same reasons as Emma. She lives in Saranac Lake and since her parents are busy, she has a tough time finding all the rides she needs between school and dance. Maya says, “I have no time to get much done, it can be very tiring to go from the end of school straight to practice.” Although some days she is able to sleep in, she doesn’t enjoy the winter schedule.
By talking amongst my peers, I have come to the conclusion that the independent students at our school have a harder time adjusting to the new schedule. I have heard more positive feelings from a lot of the hockey players who feel like they have more time to get stuff done.
Besides the time changes, a big part of the changing schedule is time management. For a lot of students, it takes around a month or so to get back into the groove of school after the schedule change. Getting organized while trying to balance sports and schoolwork can be very tough. The change in schedule makes staying on track a bit more difficult since it flips our whole day around.
To shed some well-deserved light on the winter schedule, I have found that it has a lot of positive effects. Starting the day with exercise can benefit the quality of the day. It keeps you energized and can get you in a good mood. If students are stressed, it gives them some time to blow off steam before they have to worry about a quiz, test, or other school-related stressors. In conclusion, changing to Northwood’s winter schedule is a challenge to overcome, but it will end with a positive result.