Changes big and small greet returning students

From Issue 1

Locker buddies! (Hannah Polk)

With the 2022-2023 school year starting, some things will remain the same, but a number of things will change. 

It is no secret that the ninth grade is joining the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades in the Upper School building. 

The migration of ninth graders is part of a larger reorganizaiton of the school announced last year, replacing “High School” and “Junior High” with “Upper School (9-12), “Middle School” (5-8), and, eventually, “Lower School,” encompassing everhing lower than 5th. (Perhaps confusingly, in order to stay within the regulations of the MAIS, sports teams will retain the designations of “Senior High” and “Junior High”.) 

Along with this change comes increased demand for classroom and locker space in the Upper School. A few days before the first day of school, Dr. Nealey emailed the Upper School students asking for volunteers to share a locker with someone if they would. This should give more space in the lockers so all Upper School students can have a locker. 

There are also new changes regarding schedules and time of dismissal. This year the new dismissal time is five minutes later than it was last year, moving from 3:00 to 3:05. 

There will also be no Z-day this year, where students go to all their classes in one school day. 

Staggered lunch periods are back, to help with the Upper School lunch traffic. Ninth and Tenth will have different lunch times than eleventh and twelfth grades.

Common rules in the Upper School building, such as no food or drink or enforcing of school uniform, are ones that staff are becoming more strict and aware of. According to Upper School Assistant Head Ms. Sarah Scruggs, there will not be too much mercy for those who choose to bring a loaded tea into the hallways or show up wearing a shirt that is not a uniform one.