What do you think of when you think of school? Classes and homework? Books and pens? Or the fleeting break between 10:50 and 11:50, where you eat lunch? Most students spend their days like this, but what about the students who don’t? One of the great things about high school is that each year, more opportunities open up for new classes and autonomy over your schedule. By the time high schoolers reach their senior year, some don’t even spend most of their days in the traditional school setting. So, where do they spend them?
Different Ways to Spend Senior Year
Senior AJ Mutone, attends Eastern PM for Construction Technology. He attends his first two classes, then leaves by the second half of lunch and learn. Mutone says he feels like he “miss[es] out during lunch and learn with [his] friends when he leave[s] early,” but he adds that he is “excused” from Eastern during “events like March Madness or pep rallies.”
Senior Madeline Lodge spends her school day attending a Writing English class and Principals of Leadership, both online. Lodge shares “[taking Montco classes] makes it easier to coordinate [her] schedule and other activities,” and believes it “is a great way to create flexibility [in a schedule]”. Lodge highly recommends taking Montco classes if given the opportunity.
In addition to the offerings of Eastern and Montco classes to Springfield students, some students take time out of their school day to volunteer. Senior Marcus Knowles, similar to Mutone, only is required to be in school for classes the first half of the day. Once lunch is over, Knowles “go[es] and help[s] out at the Mitzvah Circle up in Doylestown… help[ing] pack boxes for families in need with clothes and other [necessary] supplies.” Though Knowles’s work benefits others, it is not one sided. Through volunteering in the school day Knowles has “more time on [his] hands to be productive in the meantime.”
Advice for Seniors
Mutone advises underclassmen and rising seniors to “get all [of their] credits in,” but adds that “Eastern provides credits [aswell].” Knowles wants students to “prepare for what [they] want to do after high school,” and “plan ahead.” Lodge similarly says students should “know their workload.” Though senior year doesn’t have to be the standard schedule of classes, seniors have still reached a consensus that being prepared is crucial to having a good year.
