By: Chris Long

Heritage students may have noticed that lunches have returned to 40 minutes this year. This comes because of a change to the freshman academy and the former freshman lunch. While last year freshmen had 30 minutes for lunch and 20 minutes for a daily study skills class, this year, the study skills class has been eliminated and the lunch schedule has returned to the schedule it was two years ago.

What does this mean for students? This means that all students have 40 minute lunches regardless of what lunch they have, and it also means that all four grade levels have been evenly distributed throughout the three lunches based on their third period class.

The shift comes because administration realized that logistically and academically the lunch schedule used last year would not be effective. “We realized that we didn’t need a whole semester for the study skills class,” said Mrs. Hinds; instead, study skills is now being incorporated into advisory both on the first ten days and on Fridays later in the semester.

The increased number of freshmen this year also weighed into the decision to drop the freshman lunch. This year there are nearly 100 more freshmen in the class of 2020 than there were in last year’s freshman class. The increase in the number of freshmen means that the commons area does not have enough room for the entire freshman class to eat lunch at one time. Instead, the freshman have been distributed throughout all three lunches based on their third period class – the same way the other 3 classes have been.

For those of you who are still unsure what time each lunch starts and ends each day, this is the final lunch schedule for the 2016-2017 school year. Don’t come back late – remember that tardies affect all senior exemptions now!