Students at FHN may have noticed a significant change in schedule. A new homeroom plan, Knight Time, has upended the old ways of life at FHN as we know it. Decided by a homeroom committee, which consisted of teachers and administration, in the 2017-18 school year, Knight Time was meant to shake things up at FHN and focus on bringing the school together.

According to Assistant Principal Chris Birch, a major proponent for the system, Knight Time is built upon four pillars: improve relationships, which impacts behavior, create a feeling of being wanted, welcome and part of a community, which encourages and improves attendance. That then encourages students to be their best and try their hardest, which impacts achievement and to help students feel safe and connected. All of these changes help increase the positive climate at school. Life at FHN was a little rough last year. With multiple fights and general safety issues, it was hard to feel safe and productive at school. The creation of Knight Time gives students an outlet to learn and grow with others in different grades, unifying our school once again and working to solve the problems that we have faced in the past. Knight Time is crucial to the bettering of our school community.

The one problem that can go against everything that Knight Time stands for is attitude. There have been some cases where students don’t want to participate in the circles or they have a bad attitude when included in the circles. By being negative, those students are instilling a dark cloud of judgment, ridicule and harassment into their Knight Time. The restorative circle, made for an inclusive environment, is now a hostile environment for those involved. They are providing bad examples to their classmates, who may end up following along until it spirals out of control. In order to make Knight Time work, FHN has to go all in. While you make think that it’s a “waste of time” or that you’re “too cool for school,” the new adaption to the schedule goes to show how much the administrators and teachers care about the well-being of the students at FHN. The least you could do is keep your opinions to yourself and participate in the circle.

Another problem is the fact that students could potentially be putting their academics at risk. By not being able to travel, students aren’t able to go to teachers and get help with homework or take tests they missed. This puts them, and their grades, at a disadvantage. That can lead to unnecessary stress on the students in trying to find a way to get that help and teachers for working around their schedule to help the student. In order to make sure that students’ grades aren’t suffering, there should only be one Black Day a month, led by Mentors. This would allow more time for students to seek the help that they need.

In order to continue fostering this new ideal community while also considering academic success, some students should be given the opportunity to go to a teacher and get help instead of participating in Knight Time. With that being said, there should be parameters set up for that occasion that a student has to meet. They would need to have a signed note from the teacher they are visiting, explaining the reason for the visit and it must be approved by an administrator. Also, the student is only able to use one of these passes per semester. That would make them accountable to participate in Knight Time for the rest of the semester and improve their academics on their own time.

When students put the school ahead of themselves, that’s when real change happens. So, even though it may be “uncool” and a new adjustment, students need to fully commit to wanting to better their classmates, their school and themselves. By doing so, they’re creating that wholesome environment that everyone can thrive on.