On Monday, October 4th, Mr. Duty announced that power hour would be taken away except on Wednesdays for all students at Tahoma High School because of the many fights, vandalism, and the misuse of the hour. Many students were filled with anger when the announcement was made. 

The lunch schedule is now made up into three lunches by what floor you are on in your 3rd and 7th periods. The first lunch is 10:35, the second is 11:30 and the third is 12:11. How has power hour taken away impacted students?

“I can not get my questions answered for STEP and get my other assignments done in only one hour. I have one job and am busy after school. I use power hour to get my senior work and other work done, and it is difficult for me with only one hour a week.” From Rory Roberts who is a senior. Power hour limited to one day a week is especially hard for our seniors. They have STEP assignments on top of their regular assignments, plus applications and scholarships that need to get taken care of. Seniors utilize power hours to get this done and it is difficult to get it done with only one power hour a week.

Power hour being taken away has had a negative impact on all students. Students who are busy before and after school used to use power hours to get homework done. Now it is impossible for students to talk to all their teachers only on Wednesdays. Students having to choose between one club to go to is not ideal “In my opinion, power hour being taken away has made getting anything done impossible. I am someone who is very busy before and after school, I work two jobs and participate in morning and after school activities so power hour on Wednesdays is my only option. I can’t go to 8 teachers and 3 clubs in one hour.” From Junior Katelyn Raybell.

Overall power hour has impacted all students. Seniors do not have enough time to get their questions answered for applications, scholarships, and STEP assignments. And they do not have enough time to get normal assignments done. It is not functional to only have an hour to talk to 8 teachers. And it is not fair for students to choose between their clubs. If power hour does not come back daily, students’ grades will go in the wrong direction.