On September 3rd and 4th, Picture Day will be held for underclassmen; it will be held through the Health & PE classes for freshmen and sophomores, and through history classes for juniors. If a student has taken Health & PE online, then they will take their pictures at the start of the first A Block when 8th Period begins.
Last year, however, the pictures were held through the Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes. This led to students feeling that their learning in class was interrupted and hindered by the timing of the pictures.
“Since science is a core subject, us students need all the class time we can to learn and clarify concepts. Having picture day at the same time as those classes loses us valuable time to accomplish such tasks,” sophomore Aleesha Khurram said.
Other students, particularly sophomores, felt that the disruption was not as prominent, but was inconvenient.
“One part that I think was disruptive was the fact that a large part of sophomores don’t actually take chemistry because they took it in the summer. This meant that many students had to go during other classes, which wasn’t a big deal but slightly inefficient and inconvenient. A more efficient solution would be to go through English, which everyone is required to take in each grade,” junior Meera Gupta said.
Although the timing of Picture Day can interrupt valuable class time, many students feel that the visual memories are valuable and treasured over their high school years.
“I don’t think about it that much in the moment, but it’s always great to go look back in old yearbooks and see how small you used to look! Most people don’t usually feel very different in a year’s span, but those years can add up very quickly, so the subtle transformation is always cool,” Gupta said.
Other students feel that the changes that their pictures capture each year represent a landmark of the growth they have accomplished.
“I find it really cool having picture day every year! It may not seem like a long time, but even a year really makes a difference. Comparing pictures of yourself from 1 year ago to now really shows how much you’ve matured in a short period of time. The difference as time goes on becomes even more noticeable. As you look back on past pictures, you tend to reminisce that time and feel proud of yourself for coming all this way to becoming your present self,” Khurram said.