On Jan. 21, Chapman began implementing Panther Flex Time, a 25-minute block of time during the school day for students to work independently, attend club meetings, and take time to relax. 

Overall, Principal Andrew McMillan believes that the transition to the new schedule has gone pretty well. 

“We think it’s gone really well,” McMillan said. “We’ve gotten some really good feedback from our kids, our teachers.”

While some students wish they had even more time, many have already begun to use this time to their advantage. Flex Time has already allowed the entire Interact Club to come together with every single member present, for example. 

McMillan said that he’s appreciated how people have responded to the change in school schedule.

“I’m really appreciative of our whole community just getting behind it, saying we need to get here a few minutes earlier and students getting here on time,” McMillan said. 

Looking forward, McMillan hopes to be able to make some small changes and reach a true 30-minute period, although he says no big changes will be made until the beginning of the fall semester. 

“I just want to say this is all done for (students),” McMillan said. “It’s a beautiful thing to watch the kids that are appreciative of us trying to find time for them to have access to the greatest resource, and that’s our staff.”