by Abby-More time Between Classes

"Hurry up! We are going to be late!” A middle school student at Francis C. Hammond cries as he and his friend rush to get to class on time. This scenario is not rare as students only have three minutes to transition in between classes. In this short amount of time, they are expected to use the bathroom, and get water, go to our locker, and still get to class. Most students are running to beat the bell and trying their very best to get to class but sometimes it just doesn't work. This is why middle school students at Francis C. Hammond need more transitioning time in between classes.

Here at Hammond, there is not enough time to use the bathroom or get water. Students must rush in and out of the bathroom and only get a little water in order to be on time to class. In a survey taken by team 7-2, 82.5% of students have tried to get to class on time, but did’nt have enough time. Why does it take so long to make it to the restroom and then to class? But first, the student must walk to the nearest facility, whether it is a bathroom or water fountain. Unfortunately, there isn't a water fountain or bathroom next door to every classroom. Sometimes you have to walk all the way down the hallway to find a bathroom. This is also not a simple task on a count of the hallways are extremely crowded with students getting to class. Then, once the student has finally reached the bathroom or water fountain, you might have to wait in a line. Next, of course, the student would use the bathroom or get water. Finally, once the student is finished, he/she can walk to their next class. Hopefully, they won't be late!

Sometimes, if the students don't have enough time to go to the bathroom, or find a nearby water fountain, they will have to wait till after class. This is both uncomfortable and bad for their health. If the students don't drink enough water, then they could get dehydrated. Studies say that children who are dehydrated do not work as well in the classroom as those who have drunk the recommended eight glasses of water a day. "Retaining urine sets the stage for urinary tract infections” This means that holding in your urine, or not using the bathroom when you have to can cause a urinary tract infection. Maybe, if the students were properly hydrated they would work better and in order to be hydrated you first must drink water. If the students don't have enough time to drink water at school, then it would make it difficult to get their daily eight glasses a day.

An exciting and important freedom in middle school is lockers. But, if the students can't get to our lockers then what is the point of having them. After the students have used

the bathroom and drank some water, there is hardly enough time to get to their lockers. This is another important reason as to why we need more time in between classes. If we had enough time to open our lockers, find our belongings and close our lockers, then we wouldn't be so rushed. If we weren't so rushed, then we would think about our next few classes and the materials we specifically need for our classes. 75% of 7-2 students would use their extra

time to get all supplies. If we had all of our supplies during class, we could learn more easily and efficiently. Less people would have to leave class and miss important parts of the lesson in order to return to their locker and retrieve important materials needed for class.

Some administrators may think that this extra time would cause students to goof off and socialize with friends. This I'm sure this won't happen at FCH because our focused scholars would be busy using the bathroom, getting water, and getting all their supplies.

When the students on team 7-2 took a survey on this topic, one student stated that he or she would "not run to class" if more time to get to class was available. I agree with this kid and think there are many other reasons to have more time. There are obviously important reasons to change the middle school schedule at Francis C. Hammond and hopefully the school will agree.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2048898.stm
http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/interstitialcystitis/