Following the 2015-16 academic year, the Loyola Administration reviewed the bell schedule and asked the faculty to provide feedback on the pilot schedule. An administrative team led by Principal Frank Kozakowski reviewed the feedback and revised Schedules 1, 2 and 3.

The new Schedule 1, which is used for Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays, places the recess and lunch breaks later in the day. While lunch still begins around noon, Schedule 1 now has two class periods before recess and one before, lunch rather than last year’s schedule, which had one class period before recess and two classes before lunch.

Schedule 2, used for Mondays, was also revised based on the placement of the recess and lunch breaks. By pushing recess and lunch later in the day, students have four classes before lunch, rather than three; yet, lunch does not begin until 1:04 p.m., almost an hour later than last year’s 12:06 p.m. lunch dismissal.

“From the feedback I received, many teachers figured that it was too early to have a break. Also, many teachers felt that by the last class of the day, many students lost their attention in class.”

Lastly, the most significant change to this year’s schedule was in Schedule 3, which is used for most Fridays. Last year’s Friday schedule included two breaks, and dismissal was at 1:50 p.m. This year, the administrative team’s proposed Friday schedule removes the lunch period but extends recess from 15 minutes to 27 minutes. Students are then dismissed from campus at 1:33 p.m., which is 17 minutes earlier than last year’s Friday schedule.

Kozakowski identified the Friday schedule as a “proposed” schedule because the administrative team saw this schedule as one possibility that will run this year, but it can be revised for the 2017-18 academic year if the administrative team decides to revise it.

“It is too early to start conducting any feedback, and I don’t plan to conduct a survey review until the second semester. If there is an immediate problem that arises, we will address the issue and find the best possible solution,” said Kozakowski.

The new bell schedule also features two versions of a homeroom schedule. Schedule 4 has a 27-minute meeting block, whereas Schedule 5 has a 15-minute homeroom session. Kozakowski said the two versions will be used based upon the activity scheduled for homeroom.

Since the bell schedule has only been active for three weeks, Kozakowski does not plan to conduct feedback until April or May.