The 2018-2019 school year will mark Dr. Amy Steiner’s first year as principal of Orono High School. As previous Principal David Benson retired last year after his era of teaching, a new face was introduced to the school district, along with a variety of changes to the school.
In the years past, Spartan Hour, which is a 40-minute study hall, had occurred on a regular Monday, Wednesday, Friday basis. Last year stunned students and staff as the beloved Spartan Hour was no longer on a consistent schedule.
“It’s really nice to have time to get all of my homework and college applications done in spartan hour, to relieve me from my stress load.” senior Ginny Morrison said.
This year Steiner reversed the Spartan Hour schedule to the M / W/ F schedule. An alteration was incorporated, that school weeks that only consist of three days due to time off will not include Spartan Hour into the daily schedule.
Spartan Hour was initially created for not just a study hall, but also for students to hold club meetings and meet with teachers for extra help. The cafeteria used to be a designated area for students to go when their assigned Spartan Hour teacher held a club meeting in their room. This year the cafeteria was no longer available for students.
Instead, students were split to alternating teachers for when their own Spartan Hour room was occupied for a club meeting. The entire group of students in a particular Spartan Hour will be split into designated teacher groups, therefore a single teacher will not fall under the abundant amount of stress by taking on 20-30 new students.
“Spartan Hour is a good opportunity for students to have extra time and support, the purpose of closing the cafeteria was for safety reasons, in years past it was difficult to keep track of students,” Steiner said.
In addition to the alteration of the Spartan Hour schedule, breakfasts were introduced to students. Starting at 7:30 each morning students have the opportunity to have a nutritional breakfast. Students can find this at the concession stand in the mezzanine.
A La Carte and the student store are additional breakfast options for students. At the concession stand, all students and students who are on a reduced lunch program are able to get breakfast from their own lunch program rather than spending a larger amount of money at places like A La Carte or the student store.
Although started this year, the reduced and nutritious breakfasts were brought to OHS from the student voice club. Hot breakfasts are available, to students for $1.80 and adult breakfast for $2.15. Grades 6-12 are able of getting a healthy breakfast at school, thanks to the changes made.
