Despite all of the changes to West this year, one important thing has stayed the same: Dr. Meloche’s optimism. Of course he has the weight of the new schedule on his shoulders, but our principal knows that this year will surely be a good one.

Out of all the schedule changes, “lunch is on [his] mind probably more than anything”. It will be more limited in the beginning of the year, but hopefully as we move forward everyone will start to adapt to the time restraint.

As for his goals, this year Dr Meloche has a large to-do list. He hopes to improve all of the school’s test scores, including SAT, AP, SAT, and state assessments. On a more long-term scheme, Dr Meloche hopes to increase the popularity of AP classes. He hopes to see each student take at least one AP class throughout their time at West.

One huge change this year that many students have already taken a liking to is that cell phones may now be used during lunch and advisory periods. Dr Meloche and other administrators are hoping to discourage students from using their phones during classes by allowing us to go crazy during times when there is no instruction. The reasoning behind this major change is that teachers were wasting too much time writing kids up for small instances, especially when many of the kids written up for using a cell phone were caught during their lunch period. Teachers will have more time to focus both on bigger disciplinary issues and on preparation for their classes.

In order to make sure that students get the most out of each class, teachers are going to be meeting more often in order to begin a “raised level of accountability”. Hopefully classes that are on the same level but are taught by different teachers will be able to have more common work, giving students more of an opportunity to work together.

Overall, Dr Meloche knows that this year is bound to be a good one. Once everyone at West adjusts to all of the changes we are sure to have a wonderful year. Welcome back and good luck!