SEHS ENIGMA

The Answers to Questions & Misconceptions Addressed by Step

INTRODUCTION

Although many new and upcoming changes to student life have been communicated, there have been many mysteries that have been shrouded in darkness. To alleviate these concerns, an interview was scheduled with Principal Stepnowsky for May 1, 2023. 

STEP: “And this is kind of the thing about rules in general that will be a theme through what we go through (interview). One thing I say to every adult, every kid here is a good kid here is a good kid, we don’t have bad kids at Saint Eds. Kids make mistakes, humans make mistakes, people make mistakes. And so sometimes, rules are in place for safety”

SCHOOL STAFF AT RESTROOM DOORS

Some commons misconceptions are that students were either using illicit substances or making attempts to skip class. However, teachers now surround these restrooms because of the low-level damage that has been caused to the plumbing system. School faculty find many toilets and sinks clogged with just about anything, which has caused a significant hassle for the facilities team. Furthermore, items used to plug the plumbing would need to be large, so leaving bags outside of the restrooms would alleviate this issue.

STEP: “There was this moment in time, where I bet it was probably a handful of guys that were just causing some damage and mischief in the bathrooms”

BACKPACKS NO LONGER IN USE

The backpacks tie partly into the last issue. There is a possibility that without backpacks being present, there won’t be any need for faculty around the restrooms, as students couldn’t sneak in larger items. However, the main reason behind this change was to create a natural pause in the day. Instead of students moving as quickly as possible from classroom to classroom, we could take a break to communicate with our fellow peers and teachers. Finally, the clutter these bags would cause in classrooms also posed a tripping hazard. Lastly, this change was inevitable as it was discussed prior to COVID-19, the pandemic just put a hold on these plans to ensure students felt they were safe. 

STEP: “The building seems a bit calmer if anything, it seems like there is more interaction, and people aren’t running from point A to point B with their entire lives on their backs. There is a little bit of that pause to be a person in a school, not a person who has to get somewhere”

HOODIES OFF DRESSCODE

By design, hoodies create a tunnel vision, which next to completely shrouds yourself from others. Airpods have a similar effect, which completely takes you somewhere else. While wearing a hoodie, students tend to isolate you from others. This decision was mainly made to aid in bringing the community of SEHS back together. 

STEP: “Whether or not a student was perfectly dressed was not high on our radar(during COVID-19) because we wanted to make sure people feeling ok mentally, knew that were safe, knew that they were cared about”

STUDENTS USING DRAWSTRING BAGS

There too has been confusion regarding drawstring bags. Can we wear them, or can we not wear them? The short answer to this question is, no, with the exception of the senior class. In years past, especially during the pandemic, seniors physically couldn’t have any special privileges. Student leaders from the senior class have made this their special request in lieu of the school returning to standard high school standards.

STEP: “The seniors have never had to use a backpack here ever, and they were coming back to essentially 20 days of school… It’s been very normal for Saint Eds in years not impacted by the pandemic to have what we refer to as senior privileges. And seniors really haven’t had any special privileges because of different COVID protocol, and so I wanted to extend to the seniors that this was even more different for the juniors – freshmen”

WHY ROOM 200 IS ALWAYS LOCKED

Unlike former school years, the beauty of Room 200 has been consistently locked. More recently, this has come as a result of an art exhibition. Students have madea a superior effort towards these summative projects, and it wasn’t worth the risk of having them potentially be harmed. Students may be disappointed as it has become a common lunch spot for them, but that too poses a risk towards students.

STEP: “We’ve all had something go down the wrong pipe. What if someone was in a hidden space in this building and started to choke, and there is nobody there to help them? Again, I’m sure I’m blowing it out of proportion and I’m worrying way too much, but part of my job as principal is to worry”

CONCLUSIONS

Many of the rules addressed here have been employed as a means of returning to standard highschool life. However, many more have also come as a result of a small number of students wrecking havoc. Faculty can’t be everywhere at one single time, so the only logical solution to solving these problems would be to create rules. To prevent more regulations against us, we should stick up for one another. As Step said, there are no bad students at Saint Eds, sometimes we simply need them to recenter themselves to maintain the standards of our community. If another student is ignoring these values, be there to help them, as people can always be MADE NEW, and in doing so, we won’t have to worry about new rules. So when you next notice another student unscrewing the ping pong table, be there to ask them what they’re doing and give them a hand. 

STEP: “My job is to protect students and protect the school, and so sometimes you gotta make some changes to meet these goals… if we ignore it(school mischief) we’re saying it doesn’t matter to us… we’re Saint Edwards, and we’re better than that”