With students on campus and in classes five days a week again, the school decided to adjust the schedule “in an attempt to blend the best of everything that we have learned about our daily routines both in pandemic and before,” Upper School (US) Director Geoff Theobald said.

“We are focusing on being highly intentional about how we schedule and utilize our time together,” Mr. Theobald said.

There are several main changes: the adaptation of advisory meetings, which will now happen twice a week and delve deeper into discussions and community building; the formation of Community Activity Blocks (CAB), which function similarly to X blocks in previous years; bi-weekly US assemblies, which will feature announcements and presentations from students, faculty, and external speakers; and the inclusion of weekly office hours, which also function like X blocks except that no other clubs or official gatherings will be taking place at that time.

US Science Teacher Michael Chapman chaired the scheduling subcommittee, which designed the new schedule, and said he’s excited for office hours as a “space away from the academic environment.”

“It gives everyone a real chance to take a breather and go see teachers if you need them,” he said.

Returning to school after a year and a half of evolving circumstances offers some benefits, Mr. Chapman said.

“We have half a school that does not know what the old schedule looks like,” he said. “This is a chance for us to re-establish what normal might look like.”

Gabrielle Martin ’23 said she worries about having enough unscheduled time to finish homework during the school day.

“I have chosen to add a lot of academic work to my schedule, and I need every bit of time I can get to complete my homework on a nightly basis,” Gabrielle said.

Molly Martin ’22 said the schedule’s new additions confused her initially but she now sees the upsides.

“I was super excited when I saw advisory was being extended and that there was CAB time because I think we all need to spend more time together after the year we had last year.”

Mr. Chapman said he looks forward to hearing community feedback on the schedule as the scheduling committee continues to brainstorm what works best for the school.