Students Feel Happier with Half Days

At the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, numerous Charlotte Catholic students, parents, and staff were surprised by the number of half days organized this year. Throughout the year, the expected amount of half days totals to 12.

This marks a significant increase in half days from last year. This mainly results from MACS requiring the school to add two back-to-back half days in order to stay on the same schedule as other schools in the area that are on a trimester schedule. These shortened school days are on October 30th and 31st, as well as November 20th and 21st.

Regarding these back-to-back half days, Assistant Principal Steven Knight said, “We may make these specific half days a block schedule, where students may go to their A, B, C, and D periods the first day, and then the rest of their periods the next day.” This would increase class time for teachers, so that they can fully get through their lesson plans for the day, rather than cramming everything in a short period of time.

The significant number of half days has also affected some of the teachers’ curriculum. Teachers often schedule quizzes on half days, which typically fall on Fridays. Advanced English teacher Katherine Carden said, “Half days make us intentional in our scheduling, potentially causing us to push some things back.”

Credit: Charlotte Catholic High School

Teachers have no say on the scheduling of half days. Mrs. Carden said, “It may be helpful to ask the teachers before organizing half days in order for dates to not overlap with anything important, such as tests or essays.” Although this could help with their plans, teachers understand that setting up these half days is not their decision to make.

From the students perspective, the majority enjoy the fact that this year Charlotte Catholic has more half days. On these days, students can relax, get home early to do work, and then go hangout with friends. 

Half days can help some students catch up, but they can also impact other students negatively due to the shortening of class periods. Junior Xander Letizia said, “Half days give me more time to focus on extracurricular activities outside of school, without having to worry about having a lot of work.” In contrast, sophomore Josh Stephens said, “The only downside to having half days is that if I have a test or quiz that day, it gives me less time in class to complete it without rushing.”

Ultimately, this is the first year MACS required Charlotte Catholic to add these days into the calendar, which significantly increased the number of half days scheduled throughout the year.