In the upcoming 2017/2018 school year, a lot of new things are happening around the school at Middletown High School North. For example, new rules will be put into place for the students on campus regarding the policies on school lates and absences. Not many of the students are happy about these new rules, especially the Senior class.

If the student gets more than 10 absences, that student will immediately start to lose credits in their courses and have to enroll in summer school. If they are part of the graduating class, the student with loss of credit and will no longer be allowed to walk at graduation.

Also a part of the new policies in the district are: if a student comes into the building after the bell with any kind of food or drink, it will be taken away and thrown in the garbage. If a student is more than 15 minutes late to a class, it will count as an absence. Furthermore, rules in the handbook state: nothing will be an excused absence except for bring your child to work day, college visits, and/or religious holidays.

Students will no longer be allowed to bring in a medical note or note from home to excuse themselves from missing a day of school due to illness or a death in the family.

Basically what the school is saying is, if a student misses a day of school, then it is their fault and there is nothing that can be done about it.

All of the new rules at Middletown North are something that the students are  unhappy about. Students enjoyed that there was a lot of freedom in the high school and now that administrators are cracking down on these rules, they are starting to feel more and more like they are in a “prison for the next 10 months.”

Since these rules are being issued on a state level, it is important that the school strictly follows them. There is no fighting this. What goes, goes. The seniors are especially mad about these rules because there is a high chance they will not be able to walk during graduation.