Administration converted all C-Days to Eagle Days for the second quarter after requests from students and teachers for less screen time.

C Days were originally incorporated into the remote learning environment to form a set schedule that would make it easier for students and teachers to follow.

“We heard that the class periods just felt really rushed and that it’s really stressful to go through all your classes in a day,” said Assistant Principal Dr. Therese Plunkett. 

The C Days were meant to equalize the amount of time each student has in each of their classes, with 40 minute periods for each of the seven classes.

“My plan was to use those days for mini-lessons that I would do as an opener during regular school,” said freshman and sophomore English teacher, Ann Dernbach. 

Dernbach said she felt the 40 minute class periods during C-Days were fast-paced, compared to the regular 90 minute periods. As a freshman AcLab advisor, Dernbach noticed her students scrambling to go from AcLab check-in to their next period. 

“If I felt they were bad, I could imagine students feeling overwhelmed,” said Dernbach. 

During Eagle Day, Dernbach uses her 45 minute Eagle Labs to better get to know her freshmen. 

“I think having an Eagle Day more often will make them [freshmen] a little more comfortable in their environment,” said Dernbach.“Having less Eagle Days would make it harder to build that community.” 

The added Eagle Days can also serve as a time for students and teachers to destress. Morgan Akins-Hinkle ‘21 said Eagle Days are a helpful break in the middle of the week and help her find a balance between home life and school life. 

“It [Eagle Days] gives me time to catch up on things that I want to do, like I can do something fun,” said Hinkle. “When I want to do something fun, like watch a show, it feels like I’m wasting time. Everything feels so strictly regimented and it’s frustrating. I think that Eagle Day gives me a kind of reprieve in the middle.” 

The administration is still taking suggestions on how to help students better adjust to remote learning while making sure to follow Chicago Public School (CPS) guidelines for instructional minutes. 

“When you’re in a Google Meet or Zoom class with 25 to 30 kids and all these little boxes on a screen, I just think people are getting fatigued from that,” said Plunkett. “It’s a different kind of stress than being in class and working.”