During the first week of school, I was extremely confused. While some of it was just freshman fog, it didn’t help that by the second week, we had a new lunch schedule that even my teachers were bewildered about. 

My last hope in figuring out which lunch period I had was to listen to the morning announcements, but they came on just as class was ending and everyone had begun to talk. Even when the class quieted down, I couldn’t hear a thing. Thank goodness for the kid sitting next to me who found an email from the school that had been forwarded to them, containing all the information I needed. I was so annoyed that I hadn’t been able to see the details on the new lunch schedule in writing sooner. It made me wonder, why don’t students receive the weekly Wilson Newsletter? Why, Wilson?

If you go to the student handbook or the website, it specifies that all parents will get a newsletter sent to the email address(es) they provide. Students are supposed to stay up to date by relying on their parents or listening to the morning announcements. 

“The newsletter is sent this way because it is attached to the emails in Aspen. Students should ask parents or guardians to forward them the email if they need it,” stated Patricia Cebrzynski, a Wilson administrative officer. “If we were to change it, it would have to be something on a bigger scale.” Meaning, changes would have to come from people higher up than Cebrzynski, as it’s a district policy for all schools.

But considering that not every parent can remember to forward their child an email and the morning announcements are rarely heard, getting important information from the school feels near impossible. By high school, we’re supposed to be more independent and responsible, yet we might not find out about a new community service opportunity without the help of a parent. We need to find a new way to inform students –– which may entail updating the email system –– or we might forever be resigned to relying on the muffled announcements. •