A Typical Day at School.

My school starts at 7:30 every morning, and we get out at 2:15. At my school we only have 4 blocks a day for 2 quarters. We're on something called block scheduling which means that after our first 2 quarters, or semester, is up then we switch classes, so all in all we take 8 classes a year. Four classes a day seems really small, which it is, but each period lasts 90 minutes. Also, I know that that sounds long as well, but it's actually really great because the teacher gets to teach the whole lesson, give you your homework, and you're able to do your homework in class. I rarely have any homework, and when I do, it's max. a half hour because it's only the other things that I didn't get to finish in class. So it's really great, and it makes it so much easier for you to have a job and do extracurriculars.

Currently I am taking Alg II, Wind Ensemble II, English II and Jazz Band II. So I pretty much spend half of my day in some type of music class or another. Last semester I took Chemistry Hon, Wind Ensemble II, World History Hon and Jazz Band II.

And then there's lunch...every one's favorite time of the day, aside from school being let out. At my school there are two cafeterias: the east and the west. Some kids eat in the cafeterias while others, such as myself, eat out in the courtyard on picnic benches or on the grass. We also have a pavilion where kids can eat out by the soccer and softball fields. I usually bring my lunch because I'm on the Track and Field team and can't eat the cafeteria food and then end up running out in the heat at 2:45. Lots of kids do eat the school lunch though. The most popular meal, by far, would be the nachos. Everyone looks forward to nacho day, and the lines to both of the cafeterias are so ridiculously long.

In my city there are 3 public high schools, and my school is the smallest one of the three. Although my school is a VPA (visual and performing arts) school our whopping 1,734 students barely compares to the two other school populations. You would think that an arts school such as mine would reel in more kids, but it doesn't. It's actually nice though, because you get to know just about the whole school, where as at other big schools you could be in the same grade as someone and never even know that the person existed. Being a small school also makes it so much easier get across campus and to learn in class. We have 7 minutes to get from class to class, which is more than enough time and you never have to rush. The average number of students in one class is 19-20.

So overall, I really don't mind going to a small school. It's great also because being at an arts school, kids get to focus on the arts and what they really aspire to do. Music, dance, art, theater are the VPAs students have to choose from; there are also different academies such as the law academy and environmental science academy and ROTC. It's really just a great atmosphere, and it really makes you enjoy school, and it makes you actually like being here to learn and hang out with your friends.