By Natalia Barriga, Staff Writer

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not make it more accessible for students to eat it? Currently, Norwood High’s breakfast ends at 7:40 a.m., but there would be many benefits to extending it to 8:15 a.m. Some students are not able to come early to school to eat breakfast or they end up running late, and because of that they don’t have the time to eat breakfast. I believe if Norwood changed the breakfast time to 8:15 a.m. more students will be able to concentrate because they won’t be focusing on being hungry. 

Of course, this would all depend on if teachers would allow their students to go downstairs and get breakfast. The student will need a pass to go down to the cafeteria, and they will have to go to class before asking to even go to breakfast. Teachers want their students to be able to participate in class and actively listen, but if a student did not have breakfast, they won’t be as awake as a student who did eat breakfast. 

The website, UPMC HealthBeat, states why you should be eating breakfast in the morning. One of the reasons they state is that eating breakfast helps your “ability to focus, reason, and process information.” WebMD explains that breakfast “gives your body energy to get started and your brain the fuel it needs to take on the day" and according to KidsHealth, eating breakfast can also affect “your mood and energy.”

If breakfast time could be extended, then students would not have to worry about being hungry until lunch finally comes around, especially students who have third lunch.  

Teachers want their students to be in happy and in positive moods, but sometimes this is not possible because of something happening at home or during their day, but it can also be because they have no food in their system. 

The extended breakfast time does not have to be permanent; Norwood could try it for a small amount of time, possibly 2-4 weeks, to see how things work out as a test trial. Extended breakfast also does not have to be everyday; breakfast could just be on Tuesdays and Thursdays so the cafeteria workers do not have to work longer every day. 

If Norwood decides to extend the breakfast time, then students will do better in their classes. Teachers will see more positive attitudes and see that more students are paying attention in their classes and participating more. That is why I believe that Norwood should at least try to extend the breakfast time.