West Potomac implemented a new bell schedule to meet state class time requirements on the first week after winter break.

“There were some classes that were not meeting the requirement for the county,” said Spanish teacher Yamalie Colon, who was noted as a key school leader in revising the bell schedule in a staff email.

The new bell schedule only adds two minutes to the fourth/fifth period block, but this minuscule change adds enough time over the year to meet the seat time requirements.

“It’s not a radical change,” said Spanish teacher Victoria O’Connor. Along with Colon, O’Connor spent additional time helping to revise the bell schedule.

The biggest changes in the schedule are moving the announcements to third period and taking three minutes from the 15 minute passing time between first/second period and Wolverine Time.

“Reducing the breakfast time was just a single way to gain some minutes without completely impacting other areas,” O’Connor said.

The new bell schedule adds one minute to the first/second period block, takes 3 minutes from the breakfast passing period, two minutes to the fourth/fifth period block, and one minute to the sixth/seventh period blocks. To help students get to class on time, a five minute warning bell was instituted during the passing period.

“It’s going to be a bit of an adjustment for some students,” said O’Connor, “but I think if we all work together, we’ll be good.”