After serious consideration about a later start time for Hanover High School, administrators have come to a decision. In the fall, the first bell will move from 7:25 am to 7:55 am, and dismissal will be 2:4 pm instead of 2:16 pm.
A few weeks ago, each grade was called down to have a discussion on the topic of start times. Mr. Paquette explained how waking up early has been scientifically proven to cause a multitude of problems for teenagers such as getting to school late, a decrease in grades, and even discipline issues. High schools across the country have adopted later start times, with elementary schools starting earlier because younger children naturally wake up early.
The most common argument students had was that a later start time, and therefore later dismissal time, would affect sports. But many schools in Massachusetts have start times as late as 8 am and their sports don’t interfere with schoolwork. The more controversial part of this new plan is how early release days may work. One proposal is to have half days start for students at 10am, and still end at the normal time. The teachers would go to meetings before the students come to school. Could this lead to weaker teacher performance on early release?
Whatever happens next year, remember The Indian will be here to keep you updated.
made, there always seem to be another story to tell. To Hell and Back: The Last Train from Hiroshima by Charles Pellegrino recounts the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan. Most of us know the basic details, which are often wrapped up in whether the US was right to unleash the nuclear age in an effort to end the war. This book doesn’t get bogged down in that debate. Instead it paints – in vivid scientific, physical and emotional detail – the impact on the cities and people devastated by them, that day and in the months and years since. The stories of Japanese survivors are heartbreaking, especially those who fled after the first bombing and sought safety in the city that became the second target. Can you imagine living through one bomb – a bomb that incinerated your family on the spot, flattened entire neighborhoods and left thousands with horrific burns and radiation poisoning – only to endure it again a few days later? For many people, survival was a matter of inches: a person shielded by a wall or tree may have survived while someone standing steps away was vaporized. The author follows a handful of survivors, much as John Hersey did in his 1946 book Hiroshima, as well as other notable participants such as the pilots who dropped the bombs. While Hiroshima is a powerful book, To Hell and Back goes farther and digs deeper. The 2015 edition uses modern language, making it feel less dated than Hersey’s book, but it also has the benefit of following up with eyewitnesses who lived into the ’90s and 2000s. It was powerful to read how the bombings continued to haunt the survivors, many fighting until old age for a ban on nuclear weapons and an end to war.
The Hawk 