This 2021 school year has been very different from past years, masks are worn, everyone is back here at SHS, and phones are now allowed during the school day. The old phone policy did not allow the use of cell phones at all between 7:50 a.m. and 2:55 p.m. — that has now changed. Students are now permitted to use cellular devices in study hall, lunch and in between classes. Many teachers are now using this new policy to help their classroom.

The administration has been planning this change for years, and it is now put in effect.

“I’d say the past two, three years, always trying to focus more and more on mental health and how a lot of kids use their phones to distress by listening to music or something,” Vice Principal Erica Kosiorek said.

This change has been made to better the atmosphere at SHS for students. When students are in study hall, they can listen to music to focus more on homework or just to relax.

Students have been using this change to their benefit.

“I really try not to go on my phone during class,” Jack Riley said. “I like listening to music and texting my mom if I ever need to between classes without teachers taking my phone. I wish I was allowed to listen to music during study hall my freshman and sophomore year.”

As always, phones being taken away in the hallway and classroom has always been a problem.

“There has always been issues in the past where kids didn’t want to give up their phones, and we’re hoping that kind of goes away, that now that you have some time to use it, when you go into a classroom you won’t be trying to look at it as much because you’ve had it in the hallway,” Kosoirek said.

The administration believes with this new phone policy less kids will want to use their phones during class and ultimately less phones will need to be confiscated. Many teachers have their own strategy for stopping the use of phones.

The administration lets teachers know of these changes, which helps teachers plan out what way they’re going to stop the use of phones in their classroom. Science Teacher Mrs. Rodriguez, uses a color sign system to decide where students get to put their phones. Green means students can keep phones in their pocket, yellow means they must put their phone in their backpack and red means phones must be in an assigned slot in the phone pouch.

Nick Kruse, a senior here at SHS said, “I remember freshman year I would finish my homework during study hall and wish I could listen to music or watch a show or movie on my phone.”