An incorrect bell schedule affects Cyprus High School students and staff on February 13, 2025. The bells were off by about a minute and a half, but the mystery of why remains. Students and staff rely on the bell for a variety of reasons, including getting to class on time, knowing when to begin class, and knowing when to clean up and end class. 

According to sophomore student Sierra Fowler, the bells help with “structure and organization. Students are aware of exactly when they need to be to class, pack up, etc.” Freshman student Makynlee Sam feels the bells are important because “it tells you what time school starts and when to go and not go.”

Having the bell schedule off meant the bell was ringing at the wrong time, leading to frustration and confusion. The bell sounded about 90 seconds early, cutting into normal class time. “Teachers were probably frustrated because they didn’t have the right amount of scheduled time for their students to work,” says Sam. 

Teachers and students weren’t prepared like normal for class to end. This caused many students to have to rush to clean up and get to their next class. Students could be seen hustling out of classrooms with backpacks half-zipped as they rushed to get to their next class. Fowler states, “I was late to my 4th period because I didn’t know what time class was going to start.” 

According to office staff, the bell schedule is controlled by an automated computer system connected to a phone that transmits the bell sound to the school speaker system. The bell schedule gets entered at the beginning of the school year. Staff can alter the schedule when needed for special school events. No one had made any recent changes to the system, leaving staff baffled as to why it was not ringing on time. Students agreed it was baffling, especially since it was only off by 1-2 minutes. “I thought it was weird and they never told us what happened so we were really confused,” says Fowler.