Janata Harrison
After being in school for two months, it would appear as if everyone has fully adjusted. The incoming discipuli have become more comfortable in their new environment as they make The Brooklyn Latin School a place as familiar to them as their home. The upperclassmen have grown closer together as they tackle the challenging IB curriculum. During the course of these past two months however, the changes made by our current headmaster and their effects have become crystal clear. With Ms. Gina Mautschke-Mitchell leaving for the 2019-2020 school year to coach new principals throughout New York City, Ms. Katrina Billy stepped up to become our temporary headmaster. Previously she was the Assistant Headmaster of Discipuli Life and now in her new role as Acting Headmaster, Ms Billy has made many changes to the school schedule. For the freshman, these changes may feel insignificant but for everyone else, these changes are worthy to be noticed.
School now begins at 8:20 instead of 8:00, giving us twenty more minutes to do what we please whether it be sleeping or actually sitting down to eat breakfast. Many juniors have felt that this time change allows more students to get to school on time. Zhenni Wu, a Class II discipula stated, “More people are coming on time but more importantly I love the fact that I can sleep more.” The TBLS community has really appreciated the extra minutes of sleep even though some have been left struggling to rearrange their commute times to accommodate the extra 20 minutes. As a community, it is painstakingly clear that the extra sleep is worth it.
These extra twenty minutes of sleep might also be the reason why many discipuli feel the environment has become more positive, in addition to the new teachers and counselors. Razia Mostafiz, a class II discipula believes that the new additions to the school staff are young, charismatic people who inspire us to be more cheerful. In comparison, the seniors have had minimal contact with the new staff yet they too have noticed a difference in the school atmosphere. Senior Kelli Wiliams stated that “Everyone seems more outgoing and optimistic this year even though we are under so much stress.” While many are enjoying the effects of these new changes, not all the new changes have received positive feedback.
Rapid dismissal now occurs on Monday and Tuesday to allow for staff meetings. This means that clubs only have three days to meet, Wednesday through Friday. While Zhenni Wu understands the reason for rapid dismissal, she explained that it “limits the joy of school because there is not enough time to go to every club“. Not only do some believe that rapid dismissal is limiting our time to have fun but many claim that TBLS swag days do the same. Instead of having dress down days, a day in which you can wear anything you want, now there are TBLS Swag Days where you have to rep your school pride. Discipuli are allowed to wear white and purple outfits which some say defeats the purpose of having a dress down day altogether since that is merely a lenient dress code.
While the response to the new changes have generally been positive, there are still aspects that could be altered to improve the school environment. The year has seemingly kicked off to a good start as we make this smooth transition. Headmaster Billy has been working diligently to ensure the 2019-2020 school year will be a blast and the school community looks forward to having a wonderful productive prosperous school year.
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