Three Village District Announces New School Hours

Ward Melville High School will return to a nine-period schedule and the schools will have new start and end times when the new school year begins on Sept. 7.

For the past several years the high school had operated on a split-schedule ten period day, in which some students attended school periods one through nine and other students periods two through ten, while construction took place.

The change will return "a greater sense of normalcy" to the school and will make scheduling classes easier, according to Ward Melville principal Dr. Alan Baum.

"Now that the construction is completed...there's no reason to keep our split schedule," Baum said. "We could have our unified day."

The change will benefit students seeking extra academic help and students who choose to take part in after-school activities, who in the past would have to wait until the end of the ten-period day to take advantage of those offerings. Athletics will now begin at 3:00 p.m.

"Now they have the opportunity to get involved and avail themselves of more extra help and cocurricular activities," Baum said.

The district also announced minor changes to start and end times at district schools, amounting to five- or ten-minute differences at most.

School will be in session from 7:50 a.m. until 2:35 p.m. at Paul J. Gelinas Junior High School and Robert C. Murphy Junior High School.

At Minnesauke Elementary and Nassakeag Elementary, the school day will run from 8:50 a.m. until 3:05 p.m.

At Arrowhead Elementary, W. S. Mount Elementary, and Setauket Elementary, the school day will run from 9:25 a.m. until 3:40 p.m.

Ward Melville's school day will run from 7:10 a.m. until 2:01 p.m.