Advisory and Study Hall make the bell schedule different from last year’s bell schedule.
The advisory period is scheduled at the start of every school day and is also after lunch on B and B2 days. It is where a teacher advises a small group of students—preparing them, helping them, or even answering some questions that the students might have. Advisory is a class to jumpstart the day and prepare the students for what’s to come. Advisory can also be used as a time to relax and cool down before the day starts or before the last period.
Charline Watson, 8th-grade advisor for the class of 2029, said, “Advisory is like a homeroom. A class where students know who to go to whenever they have questions about the schedule, how they can get help, and what’s for lunch. So it’s like you’re advising a small group of students.”
“Advisory, if used well, can be very useful for students to improve their grades. As long as they are presented with challenging classes, they have something to work on,” said Wendi-Ann Tominaga, middle school math teacher.
Study Hall is after the mid-day Advisory class on B2 days and students either stay with their advisory teacher or can go to another teacher to get help with their classwork or attend club or council meetings.
Over the years, study halls were implemented after school instead of in the middle of the day, but attendance at the study hall was not good.
Evelyn Soumwei, 8an th-grade student, said, “It helps me. It definitely gives me more time for whatever I have to work on. Helps me improve my grades. Gives me time to study for a certain class.”
“I think Study Hall is always a positive because it is time for a student to go where they need to get things taken care of and finish assignments in that time of manner,” said Kumu Ilima, high school ELA teacher.
“Some students are able to use Study Hall very very well and especially students that have missed class, they didn’t quite understand the lesson, they can go back to the teacher get what they needed and use the time to finish up what they have to work on,” said Kele Roberts, Japanese language teacher.
“Study Hall definitely has a positive impact on students because they don’t learn everything in one class period, therefore in Study Hall, they can have one on one help from the teacher or a smaller group study session,” said Watson.
Because Study Hall and Advisory are actually connected, both classes are inside the same classroom and run by the same teacher. But some don’t care for Study Hall and Advisory. Some note that having a Study Hall when students have no work or need help or meetings is a waste of time.
“Now that Study Hall is back. I think we should’ve had it after school because sometimes people don’t really do anything, or they think it is just a waste of time, or they go on their phones when they’re not supposed to,” said Promise Jellings- Faletogo.
“It’s not the most organized way or the most functional way. We have to come up with most of the work for the Advisory l to keep the students busy,” said Kori Nishi, 8th grade Physical Education and Healthy Living Teacher.
Advisory and Study Hall have been through a lot of changes. But as time goes on the hope is that the students and teachers use it to its full potential. It can give the students a place to relax, build bonds, meet new faces, and help the grades of failing students.
