At the first Forum meeting of the year, held Sept. 3 in room 26 during lunch, students touched on topics concerning the assimilation of new teachers, changes in the homeroom schedule, new ideas for the Club Fair, and issues with passing periods and traffic.

Due to the large number of new teachers, students discussed ways to integrate them into SDA.  Students and teachers contributed ideas for school activities including trivia and ultimate Frisbee with teams consisting of a combination of both students and teachers. History teacher Kelly Hawkins mentioned the possibility of having an organized school-wide costume on Halloween.

Over the past years, teachers have had issues with students abusing homeroom. A committee of teachers has been formed to address these issues.  As of now the committee has been working on setting up a homeroom schedule: Mondays would focus on school business and community building and allow no travel between classes; Tuesdays and Thursdays would be set for academic support, allowing students to travel to other classrooms for assistance from teachers; Fridays would be for assemblies and Homeroom Olympics events.

According to music teacher Jeremy Wuertz, leader of the committee, assigned days for academic support would allow things to run more smoothly because it would be possible to set up appointments and passes ahead of time.  The committee would also like to limit the miscellaneous errands and Media Center visits.

Students also contributed ideas on improving the Club Fair, which will be taking place Oct. 2.  In the past, the Club Fair has served to introduce students to school clubs, giving them only the basic information, but discussions were brought up about making the Club Fair more interactive through the addition of activities and a possible extension into homeroom. Wuertz mentioned that clubs should avoid meeting on Mondays during homeroom so as to not cause problems with the newly created homeroom schedule.

Many students were concerned with passing period complications due to the increase in the number of students and the upcoming construction as well as the long distance between the new portables, known as the P-Quad, the new portables, and the 30s.  Principal Bjorn Paige addressed the topic, saying, “Whether it’s adding bathrooms, whether it’s adding to the potential passing periods any of that, I want to live with it so that we can make informed decisions. I think forums are the perfect place to get opinions out there. We’ll gather information, hear students’ voices, and then really talk about it.”

In regards to the distance between the P Quad and the main campus, once the construction of the tennis courts is completed in October, there will be more room to enter and exit the P Quad, according to Paige.

As for the issue of traffic, students suggested that carpools meet in the inlet at the side of the school near the field or at the back of the school rather than the student parking lot.  They also mentioned that parents should make use of the second lane at the front of the school, so that the lane near the curb is not so congested with traffic.  The issue of only being able to get one parking sticker was also brought up in regards to students who drive more than one car.  With only one sticker, students driving a different car must park outside of the student parking lot, adding extra walking distance.