As students returned to Glen Rock to start the 2024-2025 school year, they were met with many surprising changes in all parts of the school. One of the most significant is the new bell schedule and announcement setup. This year, each period has been shortened by one minute and these minutes have been moved to the second block of the day. The extra seven minutes during the second block are allocated for the daily announcement video which replaces last year’s first-period loudspeaker announcements. Notably, this shift in routine has caused some commotion among the students. In a survey consisting of 54 responses from all grades throughout high school and middle school, only 20% reported being able to memorize the new schedule. Some students have even commented that the teachers have been just as confused with the new times as the students because of its irregular pattern. Additionally, many of the students have also had mixed feelings regarding the new video announcement style. The results of the survey show that the most students were indifferent to the change to video announcements at 30%, with the second highest percentage of 24% moderately liking the announcements. Adding onto that, when asked about their specific thoughts on the announcement changes, many of the respondents commented that this new way of spreading news and information has made it very easy to hear and see. In years past with the loudspeaker announcements, students were missing out on information due to talking or chairs shuffling from the Pledge of Allegiance, which prevented them from hearing the announcements. However, this new style has not been the perfect solution to that problem by any means. Several students have reported in the survey that some teachers have forgotten to show the announcements or decided to not play them. These students not only miss out on the information but also have an additional seven minutes in that subject. While some teachers argue that the video announcements are posted daily on Glen Rock Media for access, many students do not have the time to watch the full seven-minute video.

This problem has also resulted in many respondents of the survey to ask for the return of smores.com. Smores.com is an application that was used throughout the school year last year (run by Ms.Bacolas) which had posted a condensed version of the daily announcements on the schoology update page every morning. Despite the website’s inactivity in September, it seems to be making a comeback and posts have been made daily, making it easier for students to read the announcements at their own pace. Lastly, another request that has been made by many students in the survey was the request for the return of the day schedule on the Schoology calendar. Many students in the survey have commented that it has become increasingly difficult to plan meetings and other events because the calendar no longer has the day schedule displayed. Even though it can be found in Genesis, the formatting will only show three days at a time, making the process more tedious. To come to a close, with the beginning of any school year comes many changes and challenges. In this particular one, students have enjoyed some of the changes and also called for the return of other discontinued features. The morning announcements are a huge factor in everyday student life because of its role in spreading information and important dates to lookout for. This could be one of the possible reasons for the large discussion over this topic as it has become the new regular for all Glen Rock students. As the school year progresses, hopefully students can continue to accommodate the new bell schedule and announcement setup into their daily lives.