How do I read this colorful grid?
Families often ask about our schedule, which at first glance does seem complicated. We have our reasons for this! This Explainer walks you through how to read the schedule and why it looks as it does.
- We start and end with Advisory – Our advisory system [LINK] is central to the Latin Way. This is the home base for each student and, by extension, an important connection for our families. Our advisors foster a sense of mutual caring, community and fun for their advisories. This is where our students begin each morning to hear the Daily Bulletin and get organized for the day. They also have weekly advisory lunches with this mini-community each Wednesday.
- The schedule has seven named class periods – We call periods by letters (A or Alpha) and have seven of them each day, plus advisory, recess/break, and lunch. At the end of each day (Monday – Thursday), we have an optional Tutorial period [LINK], when students can seek help from any of their teachers, make up a quiz, or work on a project.
- A (or Alpha) is not always first period – A starts the alphabet, but A or Alpha is not always first period, nor will it always be followed by B or Beta period. We shuffle the order of our class periods to keep it fresh and to avoid students associating a subject with a particular time of day. For example, if Math were always first period, a student who is not a morning person may come to associate the subject with low energy. To avoid this, we switch it up.
- Each class meets four times a week – Students will see every one of their teachers to start and end the week (Mondays and Friday). Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, they will have longer periods, better for projects and discussion. To find that extra time, we drop one period from the schedule.
- Lunch and recess or break are separate periods – We believe it is important for students to have time for nutrition, for civil conversation, and for physical activity and social play. Each of these activities is separated on the daily schedule, avoiding the tendency of many children to eat quickly and maximize their time at recess.
- Sometimes a Tuesday is a Monday schedule – Adding to the complexity, we sometimes change up which day’s schedule we follow. For example, if there is a holiday on Monday, the Principal might decide that students will follow their Monday schedule on Tuesday (so they have all their classes).
While this is a lot of information packed into the weekly schedule, you don’t have to worry about our students: they learn the schedule quickly!
