Students Approve of Power Hour

Story by Hunter Heier ≫

Power Hour is a new addition to Eudora High School’s schedule this year. Student’s opinions commonly reflect two viewpoints: those who prefer Power Hour to Seminar, and those who don’t.

Power hour offers over a full hour for students to eat lunch, get help from teachers, study, or exercise in the gym. This time can be used however students want, as long as they stay within the given guidelines. New Assistant Principal Joe Zlatnik believes it’s a great time to decompress.

For instance, if you wanted to go play badminton in the gym, you can. Steven Monroe, Sr.,  likes Power Hour for this reason.

“I don’t get much exercise,” Monroe said, “so it’s kinda nice.”

Others like to use the time to study for other classes. Senior Cassie Stout uses this time for that purpose, like many other students. Many students use the library during this time to take advantage of a quiet space to wrap up a few assignments.

Students can also go to a teacher’s classroom for help on assignments. However, the lunch is split between two groups. This means that half of the teachers have first lunch, and the other half have second lunch. It is up to the student to know what lunch their teachers have in order to get help. This is mainly because, like students, teachers have to have a time to eat, too.

It’s not just students who think Power Hour is a good idea: English teacher Mr. Jackson believes it helps his students focus better in classes after Power Hour.

“People have more energy and are ready to learn,” Jackson said.

This is in contrast with last year, where some students would be tired after eating lunch, only to have half the day to still go through.

Of course, with a new system comes the occasional bug. For example, on closed Power Hour days where students meet with their Power Hour teachers, the lunch line can get a little long.

Also, some believe that the weekly closed Power Hour could be moved to a different day.

“I feel like we get the most homework at the end of the week,” Hannah Mosser, Jr., said.

Overall, Power Hour seems to be a success with both students and teachers. Students can eat lunch and decompress, or get help from teachers, and, on the other side, teachers can eat lunch and finish what they want to get done.

“I love it,” said Stout.