for his students to absorb the math he teaches.

“For me, it would really interrupt the flow of the material considerably, especially in math. You gotta have a continuous building process in math. Those three-day interruptions would be too much, ” said Carmody.

Carmody also pointed out the positive side of the three-day weeks for teachers rather than students. He says that the extra day without students would give teachers more time to work on curriculum, planning, and grading.

Derek Twombly, band teacher, had opinions that recognized the negatives brought up by Carmody and Ailor but also made it clear that he is in support of the four-day weeks.

“It's going to be hard for parents to find child care for their elementary level students - but I think it's important to recognize there is a teacher shortage. Teachers are being burned out at a higher rate than ever,” said Twombly.

Twombly then pointed out that with all of this and stagnant salaries, people are not going to want to choose teaching as a career.

Twombly says that if the school district wants to get new teachers and keep them on board they need something like a 4-day school week to entice them to join.

“If we don't get new teachers, then it will be the end of education as we know it,” said Twombly.

Jack Howard, a junior, balances the two opinions with his own

“It has ups and downs. Fewer days mean more hours, but overall, I'm not really opposed to it,” said Howard.

Howard also works a job at McDonald's located in Odessa where he picks up as many hours as he can in between school and other activities.

“With shorter weeks it takes a big load off of school and makes it easier to work more hours, but still it adds more time at the end of the day that adds up,” said Howard.

As many topics there are on four-day school weeks, it seems only time will tell what is best for the Odessa school district.

Before the remodeling, the girl's wrestling team used the same changing room as the girl's basketball team.

Bella Palmer, a sophomore on the girl's wrestling team, commented on the less-than-ideal conditions.

“With the girl's basketball and the girls wrestling in there, it was so cramped and it was just a mess. Both teams were very frustrated in the space at each other - it’s a locker room and it’s meant for one team and we have two of our biggest teams cramped in there,” said Palmer.

Over the past 3 years, the girl's wrestling team has grown significantly, jumping from 9 members to 20, making it one of the biggest girl's sports teams at OHS.  

This left the team playing catchup to carve out a space for themselves.

This new space has not gone unappreciated, especially by LoriAnne Archuleta, girls wrestling coach.

“I mean we have a ton of female student-athletes and having that access to inside and outside facilities is great to have and to have that space for them,” said Archuleta.

Archuleta later discussed the clashes of differences between basketball and wrestling, especially the weight checks that are involved with wrestling. With the new space, female wrestlers can now check their weight privately and securely.

“I don't like the fact that you only have 5 passes a week like, when you have to go you have to go,” said Brown.

On the other hand teachers Lindsay Schambers, an ELA teacher, and Ashley Moses, an earth science teacher, saw this kind of reaction only as a hump before getting used to the streamlined change.

“Change is difficult, especially when you're used to doing things a certain way, but everyone, even my most reluctant, has begun to use the system the way it is intended,” said Schambers.

Moses backed this thinking by saying, “I like that students are creating the pass and then asking to go to the bathroom. It makes the process quick and easy. Once everyone gets adjusted to it, it'll be a good thing!”

According to Kaitlyn Grace, assistant principal, this idea of streamlining the system for teachers and students was the main goal for the new program.

“The goal was to have a uniform system that is easy to operate for students and staff - I feel like if I were a kid and I had 8 different teachers a day and they all had different processes, way of tracking, and limits that would be overwhelming,” said Grace.

Grace commented that she wanted to ensure a universal system that would make going to the bathroom and setting up an appointment with the counselor or nurse easy and private.

“The students now have control to initiate an appointment with a counselor or nurse and no one else really has to know - you really only have to elaborate in the comments and that's between you and the teacher,” Grace said.

Grace also commented on the concern about information privacy that was raised by some students and parents and how the little information they collect could have a positive impact on privacy and mental health.

“The data tracking that we do use is something that we can use to get student support. Now we can see that and say ‘Hey this is when you usually see the counselor, do we just need to set that up every week?’” said Grace.

According to Sadie Booth, sophomore, this process is more difficult than it might seem.

“There is people at school that you only see at school and you want to get them gifts, but you can't get all of your friends gifts, but I feel bad when I can't get everyone something,” said Booth.

This experience isn't exclusive to Booth either, other students such as Mia Unruh, freshmen,  have experienced similar strenuous situations.

“If you get one for them they're gonna be like *gasp*, but if you don't get them one they'll be like ‘am I not your friend’,” said Unruh.

Mia Works with a specific gift budget set by her parents, but according to Unruh this often holds her back from getting multiple presents or ones that she is sure the gifted would love. 

That isn't where the struggle ends either, students are running into difficulty budgeting money and time to get seasonal gifts.

Kendra Lattie, a sophomore, works at McDonalds during off hours and weekends and is a part of The Seussical production at OHS. 

Lattie says she finds it extremely difficult to balance school, social, work, and extracurricular activities around the holiday season, but she says in the end she probably has more of a budget than most.

“If I didn't have my own money, I would 

probably get them like, a hug for Christmas,” Lattie said.

This balancing act isn't the only option for students though, Samantha Hall, a senior, has no main source of income and has opted out of buying gifts and instead chose to make personalized gifts for her friends and family. 

“For my sisters, two friends gifts I got a thing of air dried clay and made it based on their personalities,” Hall said.

Hall made jewelry bowls with specific themes for each person.

  One friend was made a clam and pearl because she reminds Hall of the ocean and the other received a guitar based on her instrument of choice and her deep love for music.

But, whether the gift had a budget or not, both parties motivations were the same.

“I want to make them feel like they have a purpose and to make them feel happy, just to give them a little ‘I love you’,” said Lattie.

Hall reflected nearly the same.

“I want to show them that I love and appreciate them and the look on their faces when I give it to them just makes me feel good” said Hall.

Even if buying presents as a student may be even more difficult than usual students at OHS have obviously still found a way to say “I love you.”

Williams said, “It's hard being a history teacher and looking back – having to discount what the person did but that's our job.” 

Williams further explained by saying, “When you find out that something has changed in our perception of history it is my job to make sure people understand that – I think it's something you have to mention with Columbus because there's so much information that's come out on him.”  

Evan Pingle, an OHS history teacher, shared similar concerns stating, “I think it's good when you talk about any issues especially controversial issues, you talk about both sides, I mean it is about a balance.” 

Pingle accentuated that his job as an educator is to be informed and to inform students and not enforce his opinion in the classroom. Pingle said, “I don't really want to go out and say ‘I think this’ and ‘I think that’. I think it's important to just to give the information and let everybody make the decisions for themselves.”

A different take on this philosophy is the words of Ryder Jiron, OHS alum and policy & communications coordinator for the Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women.

When asked whether there should be a balance between celebration of Christopher Columbas day and Indigenous Peoples Day, Jiron said, “It's one or the other, which should

obviously be Indigenous Peoples Day. There’s been a specific narrative, albeit a misinformed narrative, about Christopher Columbus and his crimes in the Americas; the rape, the pillaging, the murder, and the looting.”

Jiron further elaborated, saying, “It centers on a narrative of erasure of indigenous peoples that stems from the doctrine of discovery. Which led people to believe that these lands were uninhabited, but whether it be through modern science or indigenous knowledge we now know that to be untrue and we have been here for much longer.”

Jiron ended with his personal connection to Indigenous Peoples Day. 

Jiron said, “As a Pueblo man IDP means visibility, recognition, of native peoples, not just in general but where you are geographically. For y’all it's going to be mainly Osage lands, but for me it's Tiwa land. Also countering the narrative of Columbus and commemorating peoples who have been here since time and memorial.”

Despite your opinions on either Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day, the conversation has made a significant and important change in indigenous visibility across the nation.