WILMER JOEL
MIHS has officially decided to return to full swing starting the first week of the second quarter with the green light from the Public School System.
For more than five weeks, the largest high school in the country has been following a split schedule system for instruction — one of the last public schools to do so.
Critics called this ineffective due to the lack of socialization which slows down the process of catching up with new lessons as outlined in the school’s curriculum. Supporters deemed it beneficial to spend more time at home with families and doing studies.
MIHS students expressed mixed feelings regarding this decision, but most of them are positive about it.
Fred Alfred a senior told the Journal that having the grouping system in place is good because there is less noise and fewer students in the compound. The majority of the students who are happy with the decision see it as a window of opportunity to move on, get together with classmates, and plan for their school activities.
The grouping or split sessions have meant for the past month that half the students have attended classes Mondays and Wednesdays, while the other half were on a Tuesday and Thursday schedule. Fridays have been off.
A number of changes in the schedule reflect the Covid-delayed start to the school year. One of the school’s administrators told the Journal that the second quarter will be shorter with 34 days of instruction.
In addition, the school’s Christmas vacation will be different, too. It will take place in the last week of December for only one week, to include both Christmas and the New Year. School ends December 23 and MIHS’s third quarter is scheduled to start on January 4, 2023. This start date, too, is different than the usual Monday start. With New Year’s day on Sunday, the Wednesday resumption of class gives students and teachers a couple of days to catch their breath from holiday celebrations.