After two years of “Monday Anchor Day,” Northwood has reinstated its alternating even-odd bell schedule from prior years. The return to this schedule has sparked a fair bit of controversy and Northwood students have voiced strong opinions:

“I don’t like the bell schedule. I prefer consistency every week and I miss the ‘Monday Chill Day.’ Every Monday schedule is different and it makes it really annoying to plan ahead.”
— Maria Kochanova (12)

“I liked our old schedule a lot better. When we would have all our periods on Monday, we got a better glimpse of what to expect throughout the rest of the week and it was more consistent. The current schedule is very confusing, and even though tutorial is longer, I would prefer to have it three times a week because it just makes more sense compared to sitting for 30 minutes in advisement and doing nothing. Having it only longer on Fridays was easier and we would all just be able to catch up and talk about announcements for the upcoming week.”
— Mafaz Alhamaewendi (10)

“I like this alternating schedule since it’s refreshing to have a little change every week that doesn’t affect my workload.”
— George Xie (9)

“I do enjoy the new block schedule, but I miss the Monday Anchor Days as it allowed me to catch up and help ease into the week. The block schedule is useful for the weeks where I need extra help in the classes that I would have three times that week.”
— Riley Bajorek (11)

“I like this schedule because I feel that we’re able to get more out of the week in terms of learning without the all-periods day. Last year, several teachers mentioned that not much could be taught during the 40-minute class periods. Not only does this change give them more time to do so, but it also benefits us as students by extension.”
— Maddie Su (11)

“I don’t like the schedule now because the week felt more diverse when we had every single class on Monday. I also liked having tutorial more times each week last year because I don’t have enough time to work or study for tests.”
— Alison Abravanel (12)

Photos taken by Neil Godse