School Schedule

The School Day

The school day is from 8:00 a.m. until 2:55 p.m. with the exception of Wednesdays when dismissal is at 2:00 p.m.

Delayed Opening

In the event of a two-hour delayed opening, everything will be moved ahead two hours. For example, a bus that would pick up a student at 7:00 will pick the student up at 9:00. School will not begin at 8:00 a.m., it will begin at 10:00. If a delay turns into a closing, an announcement will be made via automated phone call, as well as on local radio stations by 8:00. If schools must be closed during the school day, similar notice shall be given prior to dismissing students. If road conditions change after schools have opened to prevent the safe return of students by school bus, notice shall be given as such. There may be days when only certain roads are closed. In these instances school will be open.

School Closing

The Superintendent may close schools or delay opening in any or all schools at his discretion for such conditions as insufficient heat, communicable diseases, civil disorder, or when weather conditions prevent the safe operation of school buses on major routes. Notice of such closing shall be given as soon after 6:30 A.M. as possible via:

• Automated telephone call

• the recording on the Hanover High School phone system

• WMUR School Closings page

• top of the SAU 70 website

Class Periods

Class periods are 50 minutes long on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday; 40 minutes on Wednesday. Classes are expected to be in session for the full time specified. Students and teachers are responsible for keeping track of time and coming to class on time. There is a five-minute passing time between classes.

Lunch

The Cafeteria is open from 7:45a.m. to 1:30p.m. each day. Students are able to purchase freshly prepared, healthy food options during this time. Hanover High School offers students the following opportunities for eating lunch:

• • Request a regular lunch period when registering for courses. A lunch period will then be scheduled in conjunction with the student’s course requests for the school year. (This option is not available for students taking seven courses.)

  • Eat during their unscheduled time.

  • Eat during their classes except when prohibited for reasons of safety or subject matter (e.g., chemistry lab, P.E. during exercise). In cases where a student demonstrates a lack of individual responsibility (e.g. leaving a mess), the teacher may restrict the student from eating in that class. (See below: Classroom Eating Standards).

Students may eat in the grill area, atrium, classrooms, resource centers and outside on school grounds. Eating is not permitted in the library, auditorium, computer labs, or gymnasium. Students who are having trouble finding time to eat lunch should see their counselor.

Classroom Eating Standards

• • During the first week of classes, teachers are encouraged to discuss standards for eating in class and to work with their students in developing a classroom-eating standard that meets everyone’s needs. These standards should then be included in the teacher’s course standards.

  • If the needs of an individual student or group of students conflict with the teacher’s standards, either party may ask for a mediator (a counselor, department head, or administrator) to help find a solution which is acceptable to both parties.

  • If mediation does not resolve the conflict with the assistance of a mediator, then the case will be submitted to the Judiciary Committee for resolution. Judiciary Committee decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.

  • Judiciary Committee decisions will not override the restriction on eating where the teacher demonstrates that eating might cause a danger to anyone. In all other instances, Judiciary Committee decisions will follow the usual procedures outlined in this Handbook.

X-Periods

X -periods are scheduled for teachers to provide assistance, remediation, and enrichment for individual students. X-periods are assigned at the discretion of the teacher. The attendance policy is in effect for any class or a meeting with a teacher scheduled during the x-period.

Possible Conflict of X-Periods

At the beginning of the year, students will be informed (in Common Ground) that they may not schedule classes or other activities in their X hours without written permission (conflict resolution form) from the teacher whose class has an X hour. [Curriculum Committee 4/27/95]

Unscheduled Time

Definition: any time between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. when a student is not scheduled for class. The first priority of unscheduled time is instructional; it is not “free time.”

1. Teachers are expected to utilize students’ unscheduled time.

2. Recommended uses of unscheduled time include studying; pursuing teacher-directed activities; eating; quiet socializing in designated indoor areas; working in resource centers or studios, and socializing outdoors in designated areas.

3. Unscheduled time is part of the school program, and students are governed by school rules wherever they are during this time.

4. HHS may provide additional structure for students who do not use their unscheduled time effectively. Individual teachers may assign students to a particular resource room to provide additional structure and support. Parents may make such arrangements through their student’s counselor.

Activity Periods

Activity Period is scheduled on Monday, Tuesday,and Friday from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. On Thursdays that time will be used for Common Ground meetings and on Wednesdays there is an extended unscheduled period during which Council meets from 10:15 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. On occasion and with advance notice, an extended activity period schedule can be used on any day of the week for a special event.

Common Ground

All students belong to a Common Ground group that meets once a week for about half an hour. Common Ground groups are composed of two to three staff members and approximately 17-18 students from grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. Common Ground is designed to provide an ongoing, comfortable and familiar structure for staff and students to interact in an informal atmosphere, share food and announcements, discuss issues that are relevant to the Hanover High School community, and complete administrative tasks such as registration, school forms and surveys.

The goals of Common Ground are:

• To provide each student at HHS with a supportive and positive social experience.

• To help build a community with a shared sense of goals, values and ethics.

• To provide a forum for communication among students and staff.

• To promote the common practice of the rights and responsibilities of the HHS community.

Schedule Conflicts

Definition: A conflict means two courses are scheduled to meet at the same time.

Given the number of courses students take, it is inevitable that conflicts will occur. Course conflicts are resolved through the use of a conflict resolution sheet from the Counseling Office. Once the student has this sheet, the student can negotiate with the teachers of the conflicting classes. Some students end up going to one class one day and the conflicting class the next day. Other possibilities are:

(a) attend one of the classes each time and not the other (usually when one course meets three or four other times per week).

(b) alternate between the two

(c) arrange for the choice to be made on an every-week basis with priorities of the week in question determining which class the student attends. This option requires regular communication with the teachers involved.

Once the conflict negotiation is established, a conflict resolution slip, signed by all concerned, is returned to the main office where it is clipped to the student’s schedule for future reference.

Field Trips

When teachers plan field trips they will designate them as essential or for enrichment on the field trip calendar. If a field trip is for enrichment, a teacher may determine that a student should attend class instead and in such a case will notify the planner of the trip. For any planned absence (including field trips and sporting events) a student who does not have a prior conversation with the teacher, according to the guidelines outlined in the teacher’s course standards, may not receive credit for homework due or assigned that period at the teacher’s discretion.