McKinley High School needs to make a few adjustments. Starting with the duration of recess and lunch.

Our recess lasts about fifteen minutes and lunch recess lasts around thirty minutes. It is not long enough. As stu- dents, we have a lot of energy so we can’t always wait until the end of the day to burn it off.

A longer recess period could lead to better grades. Students could take this extra time to finish homework, take an AR test or even seek help from teachers.

Students do have Tiger Time but sometimes it’s not enough. With seven different classes to worry about, we need a longer break time.

A longer lunch time would also be favorable because there’s always things to be done during that time. Whether it’s an activity being held by the student government, club meetings or simply waiting in line to get lunch. Having extra time to just take a breather is good for the wellbeing of our students.

These changes to the schedule aren’t going to happen automatically but a test trial for maybe a year could yield some

interesting results in student learning and behavior. What ever changes are made to the schedule will preferably make our days shorter or at least not much longer than they are now.

Another thing MHS needs to work on is our classrooms and how most of them don’t have air conditioning.

It’s common knowledge that Hawaii isn’t a relatively cold place, it’s a tropical island! We average at about 80 degrees. Which means the weather is almost always hot and humid.

There are only a few buildings that are completely air conditioned which is great but it’s not enough. Students have a hard enough time as it is focusing in class and the occasional sweaty person you have to sit next to or the barely functional fans aren’t helping.
Having an air conditioned campus would be costly but it could also help to improve student learning and maybe even affect the dress code.

This improvement could also lead to more incoming freshmen or transfer student enrollment because having an entire air conditioned campus is a huge

bonus and a possible deciding factor for students who are questioning which high school they want to attend.

If our classrooms are put at about anywhere from 60 to 75 degrees then chances are we won’t have the problem of inappropriately dressed students.

Girls wouldn’t have to wear shorts, crop tops or low cut tank tops to stay cool and boys won’t have to wear muscle tanks that reveal the entire side of
their bodies. Everyone will probably be wearing warmer attire like, jackets and pants.

Air conditioned classrooms could also prevent people from passing out due to heat exhaustion. Afterall, don’t we want the students who attend McKinley to feel safe and comfortable.

Upgrading our classrooms will definitely cost the school but the Hawaii Department of Education (HIDOE)
has already started a heat abatement program for public schools. That means our government already knows it’s a problem.

MHS should start pushing for our entire campus to be air conditioned.