Due to Buena changing schedules from a traditional six period day to a block period model, “BARK” had its final day, Thursday, May 25. 

BARK,a thirty minute study hall period, was designed to allow students to catch up on any work that they needed to complete and receive intervention in classes in which they may be struggling.However, to some it was also a class where students could simply relax and take a break from the school work.

“I feel people would just go on their phones or talk to each other,” freshman Andrew Silva said, “Most people wouldn’t really do [work].” 

However, in the upcoming school year, BARK will be permanently removed due to a change in the school schedule.

“I’m kind of disappointed that BARK is being removed,” Silva said. “It was nice to be able to have it four days a week.”

This seemed to be a shared opinion amongst many students at Buena, but for some staff, BARK failed to meet its original intention of providing extra time for students to focus on their studies. 

“I think that BARK wasn’t helpful for students,” Spanish teacher Alejandra Gonzalez said. “Many students were distracted and took the period as a chance to socialize.”

Some  thought that students’ behavior during BARK was the reason for it being removed, but according to assistant principal Tina Perez, this was not the case.

“There can be kids outside of class during third period just like BARK,” Perez said. “So that was not a factor in it being removed.” 

Perez explained that it was a district decision to change the schedule, and the main reason was to align Buena’s schedule with the other schools in our district. 

“It was a district wide [change] ,” Perez said. “We [the schools] had so many different bell schedules across the district so all of us getting onto the same schedule was part of [the decision].”