Many freshmen are irritated after having multiple WIN blocks taken from them this year for many different reasons, and are hoping to take back the one hour they get every Tuesday and Thursday. 

Meetings and school surveys are forcing freshmen to lose their WIN block time which allows them to see a teacher, study, or do homework. While most freshmen believe these meetings and surveys are important, they feel like they should take place at a different time. 

However, Assistant Principal Ms. Derrane states that these sorts of things are what WIN block was created for. 

“One of the purposes of WIN block is for things like course selection, and we have to protect classroom instruction time too,” she said.

Julia Figueiredo is aggravated by having her WIN blocks taken up unexpectedly multiple times in the past few months. 

“I’m very annoyed with it, because I keep having things to do, and WIN block stands for What I Need and I can’t do the stuff I need to do if I keep having interruptions during them” she said.

Figueiredo feels the same as many freshmen who have to postpone their meetings with teachers, lose out on study time, or time to simply take a break during the stressful learning day. Furthermore, with many COVID-19 absences, students need the most time they can get to make up work.

“Honestly I feel they don’t think about what we have to do, especially with Covid. So many people are absent and have to make up work and we’re supposed to go and make those things up before terms end or whatever, and they just take that time up and they don’t ask,” freshman Anna Arstmyan said. 

Many freshmen agree with Arstmyan and feel like they are forced to spend their WIN block time in ways they don’t get to choose. However, some have come up with alternative solutions to help spread the important messages of AWOD (A World of Difference) meetings or time for surveys.

Natalie Martin tried to come up with new ideas so that AWOD can still spread their important content without taking up unexpected WIN block time. 

“I think one of the things would be having like, for example the AWOD group make recordings that they can play in our WIN blocks, so that they don’t need to come around to each class so that just like one WIN block day is taken up by this AWOD group, instead of it being numerous days,” Martin said. 

AWOD meetings teach students the importance of including one another and not making assumptions about others. Many freshmen appreciate the meetings and say they are not to blame for the students' anger.

Lizzy Helmar explains that she appreciates what AWOD does, like many others. She says, “I really appreciate it, because they're spreading, like, positivity through the community.”

Although many freshmen appreciate the mission of AWOD, many take issue with the surveys that students are made to complete. Many think that they are not necessary enough to take up WIN block time.

“I think some of the surveys are unnecessary because many of the students don't necessarily tell the truth, so it makes it hard for the school to collect the correct information. The surveys during WIN are time consuming and can sometimes create more stress for me since I have other work that needs to be done,” said freshman Tessa Lahaise.