This year, the administration extended the first semester past winter break until Jan. 24 in order to make the two semesters the same length.
The second semester will begin the week of Jan. 27. Major assessment weeks, which in the past have occurred the two weeks before winter break, will now happen during the two weeks before the break and the weeks of Jan. 13 and Jan. 20.
This adjustment marks a significant shift in the academic calendar, as the first semester has traditionally ended before winter break. In past years, the second semester has been almost two times longer than the first.
Assistant Principal for Academics Khalid Bashir said the schedule change was to correct the previously imbalanced system. “Each semester now has a more equal amount of class meetings,” he said. Bashir declined to comment on any other questions about the change.
“With the previous schedule, the spring semester was longer and typically had more assessments in addition to the final exam; it felt like there was more graded work in the spring,” English teacher Benjamin Stein said. He added that in past years, final grades were determined by an average of the first and second semesters, even though the second semester was nearly twice as long.
Reactions among students have been mixed. Senior Emerson Rising expressed concerns about the timing of assignments. “Before, I thought that having major assignments right before winter break made me not have to worry about anything over the break,” he said.
In the first two days after winter break, teachers are not allowed to give assessments or homework, while the first week after the break is test-free.
History teacher James Elish did not know of any policies concerning assessments during the first week back from break. “There is no policy that’s been enumerated to me at least in terms of what should be happening the week we get back,” he said. “I think teachers should know that it is a no-homework break, and so the expectation should be that students should not be studying.”
Elish plans to give assessments in the major assessment week after winter break. “I think I will try to give students time to catch their breath, but I do anticipate that for them in a lot of their classes, it will be a busy period,” he said.
“We have a lot of tests before winter break, and waiting for those test results hangs over the break,” senior Ben Hellman said. “Knowing we have tests after winter break, it would be important for teachers to let students find their footing again.”
Stein said the change will ease the burden of calculating grades for teachers. “The additional assessment does some interesting things to the way things are weighted because it is a nice whole number,” he said. “It seems like an exciting change; it fixes something that was obviously flawed in the previous system and we will see how it goes.”
Sophomore Erica Piper said that the change could make the end-of-year stretch easier for students to get through. “I think that having a shorter second semester wouldn’t bring me as much stress as last year,” she said.
Math teacher Ellie Nader said the new policy will give some relief to students. “Hopefully it will create less stress over winter break instead of teachers cramming everything into the space between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” she said.
“We have to see how it is implemented to be sure if it works or not and what could go wrong. GDS students can be very opposed to changes at times,” junior Noah Kolker said.
“I see how the change could benefit some people that do burn out,” Hellman said. “It doesn’t really worry me a ton. I don’t really see how it will affect me.”