New changes all around for the Wolverines
Security officer Dumas tickets a car in the student parking lot.
By mid-October, any Wolverine can tell there are a few new policy changes at Wakefield. The Howler spent the last few weeks speaking with administration and students to uncover the biggest policy changes to be aware of.
A major change that is being put into effect this year is Smart Lunch on Wednesdays instead of Fridays. The reason behind this change is to try to decrease the number of absences.
“Kids are less inclined to skip [fourth period] on a Wednesday, knowing that they have to see that teacher Thursday morning,” Principal Malik Bazzell said. “The main reason was to reduce skipping.”
One of the most serious complications that Smart Lunch had brought with it last year was that students would engage in fights and overcrowding was a major issue. With only one day of Smart Lunch, these issues have decreased
Assistant Principal Mr. Robinson said.
Most upperclassmen still lament the loss of daily Smart Lunch time. For these students, utilizing Pride Time and the remaining Smart Lunch days is the answer.
“I wish we had Smart Lunch every day because it has been really hard with clubs and organizations and trying to get teacher help,” Senior Class President Macy Bonnett said. “I’m still glad we still have at least one day of it”
A new interesting project taking place is the installation of collaborative spaces in place of locker bays, which will be used for educational advances throughout the school day, however, they’re not complete yet.
“We still need to put TV’s up, we still need to buy furniture, and there will be whiteboards there,” Bazzell said. “Whether the [spaces] will be open up during lunch really depends on how you, as good citizens of the school, take care of them.”
The impact of these spaces is yet to be seen, but students are looking forward to the opportunity for change.
“I think [collaborative spaces] would be really cool, especially for Pride Time, club meetings, or doing work without an environment that’s crazy around me,” Bonnett said.
These collaborative spaces will be a very important part of Wakefield that will hopefully be a valuable resource for both students and staff with educational and personal benefactors.
“Collaborative spaces will be a good opportunity for students to go in and mingle,” Robinson said. “Part of our educational process is to be good citizens and learn how to communicate with one another”
Two policies remaining from last year including how to park in the student lot and the usage of earbuds in the classroom.
Student drivers should still be wise to only use the designated space as indicated on the parking tag. In addition, new drivers who park over the lines will find themselves ticketed.
Although students may not have been told this year by a teacher to not have earbuds in during class time, this rule still applies. Administrators do not want to see earbuds in the ears of a student during the learning period unless they are used for educational purposes and instructed for use by the teacher.
In order to prevent another incident such as the senior “prank” that occurred last year, all pranks that are planned by seniors must first be run by Mr. Bazzell. This is a policy that other schools, such as Millbrook and Sanderson, have utilized in order to keep the senior pranks under control and school appropriate. Students who prank the school without approval will be suspended and charges will be pressed.
As for the new Pride Time requirements, grades have decreased from a 80 to a 75 requiring students to attend mandatory Pride Time.
“Teachers felt like it was more effective to focus on students who had a lower grade,” Bazzell said.
Another change that occurred this year was a big change in the counseling department which will influence not only juniors and seniors, but also the rest of the school.
“Everybody that we brought in [is an] experienced counselor at the high school level,” Bazzell said. “I think that there is a learning curve for the new counselors and the students with each other.”
Students should recognize the need to develop a positive relationship with their counselors for the upcoming application season and beyond.
“[Having a new counselor is] a little bit of a worry for me,” Bonnett said, “Especially when it comes to the counselor recommendation. I’m trying my best to create a good relationship with him so he understands what I want and what I am involved in.”
