The administration has announced a new school schedule for the 2015-2016 school year. While there are definite benefits to the proposed change, there are still kinks in the plan that must be resolved before next fall.

One of the key reasons for the schedule change is to allow an eighth class so that the STEM and band students can achieve their graduation requirements. This goal will definitely be achieved by this new schedule as opposed to the old system which created a time conflict between band class and classes required for STEM. As an added bonus, if a student does not take an eighth class, that period will turn into a free mod.

The eight-day rotation, which is replacing the current five-day schedule, is a huge improvement. When winter hits, if snow happens to fall on the same day of the week for several consecutive weeks, certain classes won’t fall behind.

Each day will be set at the beginning of the year in a set calendar. Students can say goodbye to shortened classes because of strange, last-minute changes to the bell schedule which, with the new organization, will not happen anymore.

The 55-minute class periods also assist in this balance of class time by ensuring that students spend an equal amount of time in each class. The extra seven minutes also allow adequate time for labs.

Every eighth day of the rotation is a Professional Development day for teachers to have meetings. Because of this, for one predetermined day from the eight-day rotation, school will start at 8:30 a.m, and class will be abbreviated by five minutes to accommodate. This 30-minute delay, though small, does allow for a little extra sleep during a stressful week.

Another positive aspect of the schedule change is the elimination of our confusing current bell schedule. Memorizing the wonky bell schedule has become a tedious fact of life for students, but the new schedule ensures that every class ends on a 5 or a 0, which will make the schedule significantly easier to memorize and follow.

By having two mods specifically dedicated to lunch, the schedule will also put an end to the era of no lunch for students with a jam-packed schedule. Students in certain classes that only have one section, such as band or AP classes, sometimes don’t have mods to eat lunch.

While a longer, specified lunch mod sounds beautiful, it raises questions as to how 350 students will fit in our tiny cafeteria at one time. Not to mention the lunch lines. The majority of the lunch mod would will be spent standing in line getting frozen yogurt to cool down from the impending body heat wave. Even with the air conditioning, the heat of so many students in one place will be unbearable.

There are a few ways the administration can help ease the transition into this new lunch set-up, including adding extra cashiers and improving the lunch card system. By eliminating the use of cash and the keypad system and implementing payment by simply swiping the card, the lines may move in a more timely fashion.

A third option is selling food before or after the scheduled lunch mods. If students do not take an eighth class, they can eat then.

A new addition to the schedule is a 10-minute break between the last two classes. The break is essentially a 10-minute mod change, and is supposed to allow students to refresh themselves and recharge before the last class of the day. However, it extends the day to 2:50 p.m. and isn’t enough time to do anything productive.

Another addition is a Community Day, where students gather for a 65-minute assembly, is another concerning element of the schedule. In an eight-day rotation, a Community Day will occur 21 times a year.

It’s worrying to think about what the school will do to fill up this time. With only a few Masses a year, three awards assemblies, and various class meetings, there could be a potential issue filling this large time slot. Even if every Community Day has some sort of assembly scheduled, it’s hard to see how class meetings that have previously been held in 10-minute advisory periods taking up over an hour of time.

This isn’t unfixable, however. Extra assembly time-slots could be turned into a study hall period or a meeting time for clubs.

These issues cannot go unresolved. If the implementation of the schedule begins next year as a “trial run,” it will be disastrous. The lunch situation is the most concerning of these element.

A great way for the administration to get fresh ideas on the schedule is to bring in student opinions. It’s ridiculous that the changes have come so far with so little student input, especially when the schedule is being redone for the students’ benefit.

However, this isn’t a lost cause. Adding students to the scheduling committee now will benefit both students and administration. Students will finally get to help in an endeavor that greatly affects them, and the administration gets a set of fresh eyes and new ideas on the schedule.

While keeping an open mind about change in coming years is important, perfecting the schedule can’t be put off until the 2016-2017 school year. Next year’s change has to start in the best condition possible to allow for a smooth transition.

There is no doubt that acclimation to the new schedule will be awkward and difficult for returning students and teachers, but the transition will be a catastrophe if these flaws aren’t worked out before then.