Middle Schoolers Experience Afternoon Break

If you happen to walk around campus in the afternoon you may notice more Middle School students out and about. That’s because of a new 15-minute break that has been added to their daily schedule. It’s a change that was brought about by students who experienced first-hand the old schedule with long blocks in the afternoon.

“Last year everyone hated it,” says John B. (‘24) “It was just the worst thing having long blocks.” So, John and another friend decided to talk with Middle School Head, Mike Davidson about what could be done. “We were really surprised about how great Mr. Davidson was. He helped us move through it and helped with our plans.”  

John and a small group of students were tasked with coming up with some possible solutions. Little did they know they weren’t the only ones who didn’t love the long block of classes at the end of the day. It turns out the faculty had a hard time with the schedule too. Davidson had already been in conversation with the faculty about some possible schedule changes. He presented them with several options and put it to a vote, which he then shared with the student task force.  

The decision was made to pilot a schedule with a 15-minute break in the afternoon, making all blocks 50 minutes long, instead of two 50-minute blocks and a 65-minute block back to back with no breaks in between. The Middle School tested out the schedule for an eight-day rotation last year and the decision to implement it in the 2019-20 school year was made. The break in the afternoon can be used as office hours, or a break to get a snack or some fresh air.    

Faculty are noticing that kids are better focused, ready to learn, and more efficient than before just by virtue of having a breather in the afternoon. Middle School students also have the opportunity to start utilizing office hours as Upper School students do. Most Upper Schoolers have a free block at some point in their schedule that they learn to utilize to the best of their ability, but Middle Schoolers do not generally have that kind of time to manage. Davidson hopes that it can serve as an opportunity to practice time management skills. “Time that they control is good for them now and in the long term. You don’t learn time management if you don’t have any time to manage,” Davidson pointed out.