St. Thomas students know that the last bell of the day rings at 3:10, signifying the end of the school day. They also know that community time takes place during block days and is essentially a free period. But what if community time was moved to the end of the day and students had the option to leave school? This should be a change made at St. Thomas High School as community time should be moved to the end of the day on block days and allow students to leave during this time.
Moving community time to the end of the day could allow students to potentially leave school early instead of being stuck at school, preventing roaming around and causing trouble. Community time is essentially a free period and allows students to do whatever they please. This causes students to potentially do things that aren’t allowed at St. Thomas during a period where they are free to do what they want.
If community time was at the end of the day, students could just leave school instead of causing trouble and doing things they aren’t supposed to do, such as fighting. Some people might say that moving community time to the end of the day would remove the break between morning classes and would overwhelm students. But with the bonus of being able to leave school early, it would give students something to look forward to and allow them to get through the school day.
“Trading community time in exchange for being able to leave school early sounds really appealing and I would be more excited and more likely to participate in class if I knew I could leave school earlier” Aiden Murrah ‘26 said.
With community time being at the end of the day, extracurricular activities after school could start earlier and not keep students out so late. After school activities, such as sports, could be moved earlier in the day and end earlier so students are not staying at school late.
“My basketball practice doesn’t usually end until 7:30 and starting earlier would help me get home faster so I can start my homework” Cal Kirkpatrick ‘26 said.
If community time was moved, extracurricular activities would start and end earlier, giving students more time to do other things, such as homework. A counterargument to this would be that two essential parts of St. Thomas would be removed, communio and pep rallies. In this scenario, community time is not removed completely, but just changed. On days we would normally have communio or pep rallies, students could just report there at the end of the day instead of having their community and leave at the normal 3:10.
This change would only affect community time because it is just a free period, allowing students to leave or go to their after school activities earlier instead of just staying at school doing nothing or waiting for their activities to start.
By moving community time to the end of the day and giving students the option to leave, students would all be leaving school at different times because of the new freedom, causing the parking garage to be less congested when students are trying to leave. St. Thomas students know how annoying attempting to leave school can be as everyone is trying to leave at the same time.
“The most dreadful part of the day is trying to leave the parking garage because everyone is in a rush to leave” Luke Orr ‘26 said.
With the new option to leave during community time at the end of the day, some may take advantage of this, but some can stay and enjoy their community time. This would create more diversity between when students leave the school and prevent everyone leaving at once. There would be less congestion in the parking garage and allow everyone to exit more efficiently.
Shifting community time to the end of the school day would provide several benefits, including giving students the opportunity to leave early, reduce after-school congestion, and allow extracurricular activities to start and end earlier. By offering the choice to leave during this period, students would be less likely to engage in undesirable behavior, and their time after school would become more productive.
Additionally, this change could enhance student motivation and participation in class by offering a tangible reward for staying engaged throughout the day. Ultimately, this adjustment would create a more efficient and positive experience for both students and staff at St. Thomas.
