As the school year goes into its second half, most students are fully adjusted to their high school schedules. However, we are raising the question whether or not our school schedule, here at Triton, is really all that great. We spoke with four other high schools in the Cape Ann League’s staff and students to hear their thoughts on the way their school day runs. 

Pentucket Regional High School

Home of the Panthers, with 591 students from Groveland, Merrimac & West Newbury, Pentucket Regional High School has a non-schedule that is hard to beat. 

Assistant Principal Caitlin Burke says their day “runs smoothly.” From 7:35 AM to 2:15 PM, an academic packed day is “providing a consistent and predictable structure that supports time management and organization,” said Burke. 

Below is a copy of the 9-12 grade schedule that Burke said “fosters a sense of stability, which can enhance learning and overall well-being.” 

Senior Cece Cammet has a different outlook on her agenda and claims her only worry is her last period study which “can be quite frustrating at times because it’s at the end of every single day and I can’t always leave when I want to leave.” When asked what school she would pick to change schedules with, Cammet replied  “I would pick  Newburyport because they can leave their school whenever they want to.” 

• Period 1: 7:35 AM – 8:25 AM
• Period 2: 8:28 AM – 9:18 AM
• Period 3: 9:21 AM – 10:11 AM
• Period 4: 10:14 AM – 11:04 AM
• Period 5 (Lunch Period): 11:07 AM – 12:29 PM
  • 11:07 AM – 11:31 AM (Lunch A)
  • 11:36 AM – 12:00 PM (Lunch B)
  • 12:05 PM – 12:29 PM (Lunch C)
• Period 6: 12:32 PM – 1:22 PM
• Period 7: 1:25 PM – 2:15 PM 

Amesbury High School

With the least number of students out of the five schools inspected, Amesbury High School doesn’t have as many to please, though their schedule does leave some Triton Students jealous. Junior Olliver Peters agrees saying “I enjoy my school’s schedule with the way they have WIN (standing for “What I Need, and similar  to Viking Block) block,” he said “that allows students to meet with teachers or do other types of extracurriculars and make up work.” 

On the same page, Acting Principal Danielle Ricci similarly said “I think what currently works well about our schedule is that it’s predictable, class length is more manageable for student attention, and it allows for students to access more high-interest electives.” Ricci thinks their daily lineup is a great fit. But, she also brings up the challenges that students may face when stepping through the doors, “If a student is not a morning person but always has their most challenging class during the first block, they never get to access that class during other times of the day.” Since the schedule does not rotate as Triton’s does, she said that “poses some challenges.” Ricci said their “WIN block” which closely resembles Triton’s “Viking Block” and Newburyport’s “Clipper Block,” was a great addition and, “some students really take advantage of this time, whereas other students struggle with the more unstructured time.” “In general, I think students enjoy the schedule and it’s created more flexibility in our options for them.” Ricci finishes. 

Newburyport High School

As a school with a large student body spanning over 815 students, Newburyport’s Clippers have quite the competition on their daily run through. Freshman Sophie Maneikis said she very much enjoys her schedule at the port-side school. 

“I like my schedule at Newburyport because it’s easy to keep track of, and I know roughly what time I have each class every day,” she said. “Newburyport follows a rotating drop schedule where classes mostly stay in the same place with only slight variation. It can also give me more time to do homework as I don’t have class every day, which is helpful,” Maneikis said. Principal Andrew Wulf provided feedback as well saying “Right now our Clipper Block, which primarily functions as a flex block (time to get extra-help) also supports our advisory program. Our student council is currently gathering feedback around whether or not we should move the advisory to another time of the day so that students have more time to get help during the Clipper block.” 

With the Clipper Block theme Maneikis adds, “If I could change my schedule, I would add in a flex period every day as we currently only have one every three days,” she said. 

And the best part of all? More sleep! Sophie agrees with almost any high school student, “one of my favorite things about Newburyport’s schedule is that we don’t start school until 8:15 and we get out at 2:42.” she said.

Triton Regional High School

The most important part of this article is probably our own student schedule, which has received some mixed feedback among our 650 students. 

“I like my schedule [because] I don’t have all my classes in one day and get a break from a class. I also like Viking block instead of a long block. It’s a good study time when I don’t have a study or if I need more time for myself,” Junior Bella Carmody said. She also added that she’d  “…start the day later so we could all get more sleep.”  

Principal Patrick Kelley explains some behind-the-scenes schedule discussions. “The schedule is something that we are constantly working on to make things better for students,” he said, There is also some benefit to a later start time.  I saw this first hand when I was teaching and felt that my students were more ready to learn at the start of the day,” Kelley said. He adds some info about our newest “Viking Block” that seems to be a big hit,  “I do think that the addition of Viking Block has been a huge help for our students over the past two years.  Far more students are currently able to get extra help and support than they would have previously,” he said. The everchanging schedule here seems to have a positive impact on most. 

Assistant Principals Elizabeth Pacheco and Joseph Celia couldn’t agree more. 

“I think this schedule works well. The waterfall schedule allows students and teachers to meet at different times throughout the day.

I would be open to starting the school day later to allow students to sleep longer as sleep is linked to achievement,” Celia said. 

“Later start time would also be great. I have always personally liked a block schedule from a teacher perspective so I would be open to that as well,” Pacheco said. 

Lynnfield High School

Compared to Triton, Lynnfield High School starts off strong with a capacity of over 600 students. And their schedule? That’s pretty great too. 

Freshman Abby Lopez tells us, “Yes I do like our schedule. We have a seven day schedule with blocks A to G. We drop one class every day, which I like a lot because it gives us a break from each class at some point during the cycle,” she said. 

The carousel of classes seems to be a huge hit with staff and students, 

“Kids like the rotation and having classes at different times during the day,” Principal Patricia Puglisi said. “My favorite thing about my schedule is how it’s a waterfall schedule. I like getting a break from a different class every day, especially the harder classes because it gives more time to do certain homework assignments, but it also gives a brain break from that specific subject.” Lopez said similarly to her mentor. 

Gym classes can be a huge topic especially here at Triton with the contant question of if there is “too much” physical activity or just enough. “We are required to take gym as a graduation requirement, but I feel like it shouldn’t be required for anyone who plays a sport for the school for at least a full season,” she said. This would be huge for any student athlete who feels like academics should come first during their school day.