Credit to Lennon Sharp

Dear Mr. Jon Schultz,
The student publications welcome you to the Francis Howell North building, where you will be residing as the principal. Our building is one of the most diverse in the district and has undergone many changes in the past couple of years, which will undoubtedly continue into the next school year. There are a few issues in particular that have been brought up in the past year that we feel should be reconsidered for the following year in order for our school to thrive.

What Should Be Reconsidered
Knight Time
One of the major issues among the student body this past year has been Knight Time. The way it’s structured changes almost yearly. This past year, it was reduced to once a week, virtually no travel and organized by grade level and last name.

This has proved to be not only a disappointment for students but also an inconvenience. In the past, students have utilized KT to easily travel to their teachers’ classrooms and ask for help or catch up on things they missed. With the organization by class, students miss out on the collaboration between grade levels that was available last year. Clubs are unable to meet during this time, which has made a number of extracurriculars inaccessible to some students. The result of this made KT essentially useless for the majority of the student population.

Despite the pushback, the policy continued throughout the year. Next year, students who achieve high grades should be able to travel to other rooms during KT to collaborate freely, even if KT is only once per week. This would ensure teachers get a proper plan period, and students are able to utilize their time to the best of their ability.

Gates in the morning
Another new initiative put in place at the beginning of this year was the increased restriction of the hallways. At the old North, students were able to walk freely in the halls in the morning before the bell. Now, students are instructed to enter the front doors into the commons, which is surrounded by guarded gates.

Some students compare this setup to that of a prison. Others say the idea is there, but the metal gates are slightly excessive. Either way, students are kept in one area until 7:05, when the first bell rings. This leaves 15 minutes until school starts. This is in place mainly due to the safety concerns with having students in the building unaccounted for.

The level of strictness of this rule has left many students, clubs and organizations needing to find alternative ways to operate, since many of them meet in the morning. This has proved to be more of a hassle than a help, sometimes making it impossible for individual students to participate in certain clubs. A pass is typically needed to leave KT and the gated areas in the morning, so it can be harder for bigger clubs to give passes to each student or to schedule last-minute meetings. Students that work or have other responsibilities after school find it increasingly difficult to participate in clubs they formerly had no issues with.

What Should Be Kept
Seating in the lunchroom
The transition into the new North did come with positives and things that worked well for our student body. Among these were the new seating options in the lunchroom. With the space we were provided, students have more than enough space to sit at the rectangular tables, circular tables and on or behind the Google stairs. The variety of options this year has improved the lunchroom experience while also decongesting the crowd often found in lunches at the old school.

School Events
Each year, the Student Council puts on two dances, Homecoming and Snowcoming, and the junior class delegates put on Prom. These dances help boost morale and school spirit throughout the year. The majority of students look forward to socializing with classmates in a setting other than their classes at these events.

Snowcoming is a winter dance that is less formal than Homecoming, that many other schools do not have. When it started, students and teachers wore more casual outfits; however, over the years, the attire has changed to closely resemble Homecoming. Keeping Snowcoming would be beneficial to the student body as a whole. It would motivate people to pay fines as well as boost attendance.

Even though the past few years have been full of change, from new administration to a new building, change is necessary for the growth of the school and the students within it. A fresh perspective will open up opportunities for this change to happen, so long as student input is valued.