After surveying current seniors, I have compiled a list of the Class of 2021’s favorite, most relevant memories throughout our four years here at Saint Joe. In a series of articles, I will be detailing some of those events so that you can look back and remember the great times we had! Even if you aren’t from the Class of 2021, these events are likely still something you remember, and you can still enjoy it!

The first event I will be talking about is not so much an event, rather more of a fun fact about the Class of 2021 in particular. Our class was the first to take on classes in block scheduling and all of the new challenges that come with it. As opposed to normal scheduling with seven classes each day, block scheduling brought many new benefits to the table for students, making it a welcome change for sure. The primary appeal is that each day only has three or four classes, allowing each teacher to go more in depth and make use of twice as much class time. Also, students only have to worry about doing homework for half of their classes each night, which also allows for more quality time spent on that. Ninety minute classes were certainly plenty to sit through in the beginning, especially after we had been used to shorter classes for many years prior, but after becoming accustomed to it, nearly everyone would agree that it’s much better overall.

As the first class at Saint Joe to use full block scheduling, we were the “guinea pigs” to see how it went. Multiple variations were tested before we reached the format that we use today, such as mixed in Indian days that still included all seven classes. The introduction of a flex period, previously known as “J-Block,” also mixed things up for the Class of 2021 as Freshmen. This, too, has undergone changes over our years here and even changed names for some reason! Our class has witnessed the evolution of Saint Joe as we tried something new and continually improved it over the years. Where we are now is the culmination of that, and even with COVID-19 our block scheduling is perfected for the students’ best interest.

I hope this recollection of our experience with block scheduling has at least made you think back to your arrival to Saint Joe back in 2017, or whatever year you decided to join us! Although this wasn’t a single event, it is still a memorable part of our four years and definitely deserves a spotlight, as we all experienced it for the first time together. Future articles in this series will similarly remind you of past events for our class that you might have forgotten, and I hope you will continue to check those out as well!