Bobcat Block has moved to twice a week after South Windsor High School changed their schedule for this school year.
Last year, Bobcat Block happened every day except early release days, delays or on Mondays, when there was an eight period schedule. But this year, Bobcat Block has moved to twice a week, on Thursday and Fridays only.
The High School’s administrators took away the eight period schedule on Monday and replaced it with alternating block scheduling. One week will have three days of the even schedule, but two of the odd, and then the next week, there will be two days of the odd and three of the even, so over the course of two weeks, it is the same amount of each class.
“We have to meet the instruction time set by the State of Connecticut,” Associate Principal Mrs. Yarde said. “The way to do that was to have two Bobcat Blocks per week to free up time to meet the requirements.”
Because of this change, on the days when there is no Bobcat Block, periods one or two are extended by nine minutes; periods three or four are extended by fourteen minutes; periods five or six are extended by six minutes, and periods seven or eight are extended by nine minutes.
Bobcat Block is like a homeroom, but students can go to different classes to get work done or to get help from another teacher through the PowerSchool Adaptive Scheduler.
Teachers can put in the student they want to see in their Adaptive Scheduler, and then when Bobcat Block starts, the student will go right there instead of to their normal Bobcat Block. When their normal Bobcat Block teacher takes attendance, the student will be marked as unverified, but because they are in the Adaptive Scheduler, it will be overridden, and they will be marked present instead.
During Bobcat Block, if students are not going to different classrooms, most of them are doing schoolwork, starting homework, or taking a break and going on their phones.
“I don’t exactly like it because it is at the end of the week and a lot of people need help earlier on to be able to complete assignments and get work done,” sophomore Josie Hunt said. “Also, a lot of people use Bobcat Block to actually go see their teachers, and when you take it away from two of the days we used to have it, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having Bobcat Block.
