SB Moves to 7 Period Day

A change we are implementing at SB Jr. Sr. High this school year is moving from a 6 period day to a 7 period day.  For a variety of reasons, going to the 7 period day does a lot of good things for our kids.  We are excited to offer several new courses and opportunities to our students here in South Bend!  With the change, school K-12 now begins at 8:30 and ends at 3:14.

What is a 7 Period Day?

Prior to this fall, South Bend has operated on a 6 period student schedule, where periods ranged in length from 55 minutes to just over an hour.  Full time students took six subjects/classes per day.  The 7 period schedule will consist of seven, 50 minute periods.  This year's periods will be slightly shorter, but will allow students to take an additional class/elective.

More Electives and Opportunities for Kids

It is important to offer a variety of classes in order to best provide for student interests.  One of the benefits of the 7 period day is that it allows us to offer more opportunities to students.  Each teacher has one additional class which provides more options for our kids.

Below are some of the new classes we will be offering 7-12 grade students:

• JH Health
• JH Spanish
• JH Geography
• 8th Grade Algebra I
• HS Art (Drawing)
• HS Drama (Theatre)
• Horticulture/Greenhouse Science
• 2 periods of Robotics
• Increased Vocational Offerings

These offerings provide opportunities that both students and parents have requested.  In particular, I am excited that we now have an Art class, Horticulture, middle school Spanish and 8th grade Algebra 1.  In addition to our other new offerings, these classes will help our students better prepare for future years, and will allow them to pursue more advanced courses later on.

Positive Impact for Elementary Students

Adding the 7 period day at the Jr. Sr. High level also has a positive impact on our elementary offerings.  For example, the music and PE teachers now have more time to offer the elementary school.  This allows us to offer music for all grades Kindergarten through 6th Grade.  We will also be offering additional PE time, as well as adding keyboarding classes to the upper elementary grades.

Elementary Teachers Now Have Daily Planning Time

Because of the added specialist (music, PE, keyboarding, and library) time in the elementary school, we are able to provide a daily planning period for all of our elementary teachers.  South Bend teachers now will be able to collaborate with each other on a regular basis during the day, coordinate and plan curriculum, and work to better prepare instruction.  It is important to provide time for teachers to adequately plan and collaborate with each other.  I am excited to see the benefits of this play out for our students.

Why the Change?

I do not believe in making changes without good reason.  The above offerings for our kids and increased planning time for our teachers are certainly the primary reasons for moving to the 7 period schedule, but there other reasons as well.  With the upcoming changes from the State requiring more credits to graduate, and increased instructional time, we feel this is an opportune time to make the switch.

With any change comes uncertainty and questions.  Teachers, principals, and staff have worked hard to plan a schedule that best provides for the needs of our students.  We are excited to provide these additional offerings and look forward to seeing our students develop their abilities and skills with these new opportunities!

If anyone has questions about our new schedule or would like to talk about anything else, please feel free to contact me or drop by the office for a visit.