BHS Center
Blacksburg High School students are set to return to classes — but they will have a late lunch first.
Students resume classes Tuesday afternoon at Blacksburg Middle School, more than a week after the roof of the high school’s gym collapsed.
Meetings were held at the middle school Monday night to give students instructions on how to operate in the modified schedule. High school classes will begin after the end of the middle school’s day ends at 2 p.m. There is a 28-minute transition time between the two schedules.
The day will begin with a late lunch in what would have been the fifth class period. Students will then proceed to their first period. Classes will end at 7:15 p.m.
High school students were out of school all of last week as officials created a plan to deal with the collapse, which has made the high school building unsafe to occupy.
At Monday’s meeting for upperclassmen, officials directed student drivers to park in an overflow lot near the middle school’s stadium. They are not allowed to park until 1:45 p.m.
The change of schools also alters plans for students who do not drive. In addition to new bus schedules, the changes mean many who frequently arrived at school on foot will have to make new arrangements.
“I have to drive to a friend’s house and walk from there,” said junior Conor Gallagher, who lives near the high school building on Patrick Henry Drive.
However, walking is now an option for many students, such as senior Matthew Harper, who lives in the Prices Fork area near the middle school.
Officials also considered busing the displaced students to Christiansburg High School, but they decided in favor of the location of Blacksburg Middle School.
Still, some students worry that certain programs offered at the high school will not be fully functional at the middle school. For example, the makeshift replacement does not have drafting tables to support the high school’s architectural drawing program.
The schedule meets requirements for a five hour, 31 minute instructional day.
“Truthfully, we’re not going to get home until 8 (p.m.),” Gallagher said. “The only real advantage is we get to sleep in.”
A version of this article appeared in the Feb 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.
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