Despite complaints regarding a lack of student voice in administrative decisions, the Benilde-St. Margaret’s administration has listened to students’ objections to previously used finals schedules. “I thought it was really obnoxious because I’m used to taking my classes in a specific order and the schedule last year messed that up,” senior Claudia Freese said. BSM’s administration has delivered, revamping the entire week into a smooth and pragmatic schedule.

Initially, the old schedule organized one review day with periods one and two going for an hour while the remaining classes ran for thirty minutes. It was then followed by a string of irregular timetables with exams planned on the following days: Tuesday- periods one and two. Wednesday- periods three, four and eight. Thursday- periods five, six and seven. Noticing the inefficiency in the setup, the BSM administration proposed an upgraded version.

The new, simplistic schedule allows for two review days on Monday and Tuesday, as well as office hours for senior high teachers after the now chronological exam times. The previous after-school study event, Cocoa and Cram will be replaced by these during-school office hours. “It’s perfect. Now I can study in order, like I would do normally in classes. I don’t have to memorize funky schedules for it anymore,” sophomore Gus Swansen said.

The BSM administration found it too demanding for students to come back school later in the afternoon and introduced these office hours as a fix. During the hours, students are free to visit their specific teachers to get help on subjects they find more pressing than others. “Students know what they need to study for, so by giving them more freedom to study, they’ll use their time more efficiently,” Principal Dr. Sue Skinner said. The BSM administration is hopeful that these schedule modifications will improve student’s moods and results on their final exams.