NHIS will implement a new bell schedule at the start of the 2024-2025 school year in hopes to raise academic achievement and to address disciplinary issues that have occurred on campus.

The new bell schedule will consist of three different day to day schedules called A, B, and B2. There will now be an advisory period at the start of each day for students to be able to check in with their teachers and get updates as well as a longer advisory period on B and B2 days. Also, there will be no recess but a longer lunch period and a mandatory study hall on B2 days.

Assistant Principal David Kaniaupio said that the bell schedule was changed because the old one was not in compliance and for safety reasons.

“Overwhelmingly a lot of kids didn’t feel safe on campus. Right? Fights, mobbing, violent crimes. A lot of those things happen during recess time. So we eliminated that time and hopefully by doing so making the school a lot more safer.”

The new bell schedule will also help address student achievement goals.

“There’s a lot of opportunities to support students in ways that we never could before. Having more tutorial time, having more time in advisory to support students on what they need,” said Kaniaupio.

According to Student Activities Coordinator Robin Kitsu the process began last school year and involved reviewing several other schoolʻs bell schedules, creating our own, and even sending out surveys to faculty and staff, students, and community members.

“I think it will take some time for everyone to get adjusted but in the end, I hope that new bell schedule will produce positive results,” said Kitsu.

The new bell schedule also impacts teachers as their floating prep period is now after school and in its place is a floating meeting time during the school day called NIT (non instructional time).

“The NIT gives teachers a chance to be better as teachers, to work together, to learn from each other, to collaborate, to make the lessons more meaningful,” said Kaniaupio.

In the end, the majority of the teacher staff voted for the new bell schedule.

For students it will be a change but the hope is that it will impact safety and student achievement in a positive way.

NHIS sophomore Haedyn Carda said “I feel like it’s refreshing because I feel it’s more organized and it’s not as messy as the other ones, but it’s still pretty confusing.”