McNick releases schedule, plans for next school year

The 2020-2021 school year is coming to an end, which means next year’s schedule has been made. With the introduction of Student Leadership Team as well as classroom changes, the following takes a look at what McNicholas High School’s 2021-2022 school year will look like.

Disclaimer: This schedule plan is as of March 2021; All topics are subject to change.

Starting Time and C.R.E.W.

The school day will again start at 7:40 a.m., with C.R.E.W in the mornings, though there may be some additions like club meetings on Thursdays. “In my mind, there is going to be one Thursday a month whe[re] instead of having C.R.E.W, we will have time for students to meet in clubs built into the day. We are still working on that, and of course it’s not perfect because students may be in 3 clubs… but at least it’s giving some opportunity for it to happen,” Principal Dave Mueller said.

Block Days

Mondays will be an 8 period day and, “On Tuesdays and Thursdays, bells A-D will meet. On Wednesdays and Fridays, bells E-H will meet,” Mueller said. The block day classes will meet for 85 minutes each.

Classroom Setups

As some teachers have already switched back, students are now allowed to be 3 feet apart of each other rather than 6 feet. This means that teachers can get back to using one classroom, which can allow for easier teaching and class time to be utilized more efficiently.

Masks

“We’re happy to take our masks off as soon as the health authorities allow us to; we’re going to follow their cue,” Mueller said. He added that it’s likely that the year will begin with wearing masks, but as more people get vaccinated and number of cases go down, the move should be closer to not using masks.

Online Learning

For 2021-2022, virtual learning will no longer be an option. “As long as we do not have a Covid surge that requires us to be off campus, [we will not be online],” Mueller said.

Study Hall

With the block day schedule still in use next year, every student will again have a study hall in the 8 bell schedule.

Lunches

“Students will have 30 minute lunches next year, but keep in mind you have 5-minute switching times on both ends,” Mueller said.

Dismissal

Even with the extended lunches, students will be released from school at 2:30 p.m., only 5 minutes after the current dismissal time.

Masses

This year, McNick has been unable to attend mass as a school at Guardian Angels’ Church. Next year, these masses will begin again. “We have a priest within our faculty now, so we can have masses more often and can be more flexible when planning them. We of course will have visiting presiders as well, but we could have mass in the school gym if we really wanted to,” Mueller said.

Student Leadership

This new leadership program is essentially a blending of the traditional Student Council and C.R.E.W under the adult leadership of several faculty members: Todd Naumann, David Albert, Jenni Tumser, and Mike Orlando. “Current student leaders will likely be [the] future student leaders, so this would include a number of members of student council and/or C.R.E.W captains,” Social Studies teacher Todd Naumann said, who is also one of the Student Leadership Coordinators. This was made “to create better alignment that’s more efficient and hopefully to help us continue to improve some of the things that are already in place,” Naumann added.