Mepham has recently made changes to the bell schedule to accommodate remote learning, in-person learning, and the pandemic in general. The first change made was shortening each period by a minute or so in order for school to end ten minutes earlier, so school would end at 2:05 rather than 2:15. This was necessary due to the new protocols for the buses which need to get to the middle schools after they complete the transportation of the high school students. This change was a little confusing to adjust to at first because everyone was so used to the times each class  ended, but it wasn’t too challenging getting used to the new schedule. 

The next change introduced  for remote days was starting school at 8:00 rather than 7:30 and having 15 minute breaks in between the 30 minute periods. This new bell schedule was nice because it gave students a chance to sleep in later, relax for a short period before classes started, and rest their eyes from the endless days on the computer screen. I prefer the thirty minute classes and fifteen breaks because it made the school day feel shorter, but I didn’t like how we had to finish school at 2:30. Even though school ends a bit later with the remote schedule, it is nice to have breaks in between each class rather than rushing to get ready for the next class, and having no time to do things in between.

There was also another remote bell schedule implemented early on in the school year at 8:00 and ended at 1:30 with 5 and 10 minute breaks alternating between periods. This bell schedule was especially confusing for me because I would always have to look back at the schedule to check when each class ended or started, or if I had a five or ten minute break before my next class started. This schedule has not been used as of late.

I would say that I prefer the 8-2:30 remote day bell schedule the best because it gives me a chance to sleep in and have longer breaks between classes to either eat something, use the bathroom, do a little schoolwork, or anything else. Even though school ends later with this bell schedule, I still enjoy it for remote learning.