Dear Mrs. Colgan, Mrs. Guy, and Mr. Payne
I am Diego and I will be an upcoming senior in the school year of 2023-2024. I am reaching out to you because I am concerned about the calendar vote. As a junior I have felt very burnt out this year and I know how important it is to have enough time to study for AP exams and to achieve amazing SAT/ACT scores, as well as to enjoy the summer. Although breaks within the school year could reduce stress, the inconsistency of them would reduce overall learning abilities. Therefore, the calendar that reduces the most stress for AP work and major test studying is the best choice for Los Alamos is the best option.
Calendar A will give students the best opportunity to decrease stress. Los Alamos is known for their students pushing themselves to achieve greatness; of course the load can come as a cost. For instance, the United States ranks as the most stressed country for high school students. With the right calendar, it would allow students to spread out the workload of AP classes, which in turn would decrease stress in school. Also, a calendar that starts and ends roughly the same time our current schedule does, so would remove the possibility of a rough transition to the new calendar. It also pleases many students who work or deeply enjoy their summer since it wouldn't be as conflicted as calendar B, which only gives students 6 weeks of summer. While calendar B does incorporate more breaks within the year which could be seen as a way to decrease stress, the breaks would increase inconsistent learning which would decrease learning and more stress for upcoming standardized tests.
Ultimately, I am asking for you all to vote for Calendar A as the best option for stressed out students in Los Alamos since it allows them to still complete high level learning with a reduced amount of stress. If it's not chosen then we risk the possibility of seeing LAHS students perform at even higher levels without drastically risking their mental health.
Thank you for spending your valuable time reading this email.
Sincerely,
Diego Torres-Quintana