A school year would not be complete unless the most prevalent topic at South High was discussed, Flex Mod. Flex Mod is the schedule inhabitants of South have to follow day to day. It dictates their learning, flexibility, and cooperation with others. In the last couple of weeks of the fourth quarter, students and staff were asked to reflect on year two of Flex Mod. Junior Lauren Firgens shared her experience with teachers this past school year.

“With it being the second year of Flex Mod I feel as if my teachers have grown more understanding with the concept of Flex Mod and more comfortable with the amount of responsibility [the students] are given. If we are just having work time in a class my teacher is very understanding about me leaving to go to my conflict. I have even had experiences where we finish a lesson early and I am able to leave to go to another class.” As the school year progressed, teachers seem to have grasped a better comprehension of the entire idea behind Flex Mod. The schedule is meant so that students are able to take more classes, classes that usually overlap, learn to manage their time, and be able to approach any teacher for help.

“Flex Mod has benefitted me as a Senior by giving me more leeway in my scheduling, which correlates to an university scheduling. The success I have experienced in my two years of Flex Mod makes me excited to see what a class with four years of Flex Mod can accomplish,” said Senior Mason Prunick. Making a leap from a seven-period schedule to this independent one is huge, though after two years under their belts teachers are finally adjusting.

“I personally enjoy the Flex Mod schedule. I feel that it is good for students so that they can learn to adapt and become more flexible and responsible. From a teacher’s standpoint I was forced to work more collaboratively with my colleagues and it benefited the students as well as us,” explained Mrs. Nicole Schumacher. A big contributing factor to this success could be the way this school year was approached.

“Instead of focusing in on specifics that we wanted to nail down this year, we encouraged staff to simply get better. To just work on what they personally needed to do to improve. Without having a set goal our staff was not tied down to something they felt stressed to achieve and that is why Flex Mod has improved so drastically,” commented Principal Michael Trimberger.

Trimberger continued on to explain how the passing of the torch to Mr. Kevin Formolo will be next school year.

“[Formolo] has been there every step of the way. He helped make the Flex Mod possibility a reality and he knows this better than anyone. I am confident that in year three he will make more improvements and continue to shape South High to be the ‘Best School in the Universe’.” The future sure does look bright for South High. With constant improvements during the lifespan of Flex Mod, it looks like year three is the best yet to come.