Day in the Life
6:00am – Rise & shine
Well, some days it’s more “rise” than “shine,” but after I take my shower & brush my teeth I start to feel more awake.
6:30am – Breakfast
After I get on my BART uniform (I chose my black school shirt & khaki pants today), I go to the kitchen for breakfast with my younger sister & look to see what’s for lunch at school today. (Chicken Stir Fry with vegetables. Great!)
7:00am – @ the bus stop
While I wait for the bus, my friends & I talk about what we’re going to do this weekend.
7:45am – Arrive @ BART
Principal Klompus is waiting by the doors to say good morning to everyone. (He & I usually pound fists.) Vice Principal Pierson calls out “Good morning” to me from down the hallway. I tell Ms. West I like her hair (she’s always doing fun things with hair color) & then I head off to the coatroom to hang-up my stuff & talk with my friends.
7:50am – Breakfast (part 2)
I know I had breakfast at home but I ask you: who can say “no” to fresh baked banana bread? And, besides, I like hanging out with my friends during breakfast.
8:00am – Homeroom & Collegiate Skills Class
I take the chairs down from the desks & get some BART Bucks from my teacher for helping out. (I’ll use those to buy some things at the school store later on.) After attendance is taken, home room is dismissed & I have my first class of the day – Collegiate Skills. This class meets every day & is required for every student at BART. I like this class because my collegiate skills advisor makes me think about my academic goals and how to set goals that will help me be prepared when I get to college. Collegiate Skills class also helps me figure out the things I should be considering when I begin my college search.
8:30am – Classes
In the morning it’s math & ELA for 90 minutes each. I say “hi” to other friends I haven’t seen yet while walking to my first class. When I get to the room I check the agenda on the board to see what we’ll be doing today.
11:30am – Lunch
Since BART is a smaller school, the line for lunch moves pretty quickly. That means I get more time to eat & hang out with my friends at the lunch table. I also use my BART Bucks to buy some things I need from the school store.
12:00pm – ILT (Individual Learning Time)
Today I use my ILT to get a head start on my homework & finish my Science Fair project.
1:00pm – Science Class & Lab
The best thing about science class is when we do labs. Every week it’s some different kind of experiment. Very cool.
2:00pm – Today, Fitness. (Tomorrow, Music.)
(At my old school we called this gym or PE.) Today we’re going outside & playing ultimate Frisbee. Yesterday it was raining so we stayed inside & did Zumba instead. (It felt more like a school dance then a gym class that day!) Fitness meets more than once a week & on the days we don’t have it I have my music course. Last trimester I had my visual arts class & next trimester I’ll be taking a technology class. This trimester I’m taking music & I really like it a lot. Every trimester there’s an Arts Showcase at the school, and I’m excited we will perform at that.
3:35pm – End of the school day
Some kids are getting on their buses & heading home. I’m staying after for cross-country running practice & then I’ll take the late bus home.
4:40pm – Heading home
When the after-school program is finished, I take the late bus home & play outside with my sister and my friend before dinner. Then after dinner I finish the last of my homework, hang out & watch some TV with my family, call a friend & talk on the phone for a bit & then read in bed before turning off the light & starting it all over again.
Kristen Olmstead, Paraprofessional
