With the retirement of Greg Melvin and Bill Shorttall, this year’s security team has created new policies. The main change this year is that hall passes are now required for all students in the halls.

Teachers used to be able to tell their students to just go, especially if their class was close to a bathroom, but now “every kid [is], required to carry a hall pass when they leave their classroom. Every kid will be accounted for,” security team leader Chris Pucciarelli said.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure each student who leaves their room during instruction has a hall pass. For safety reasons, although it appears elementary, it is required regardless of the class. “I think it’s important that students have passes because I think there has been a big problem with students just wandering the halls during class,” math teacher Suzanne Pykosh said.

Some teachers have created their own passes by organizing different colored lanyards with a plastic passes attached that say “bathroom” or “hall pass.” Others just have a piece of paper that says “BATHROOM” on it that students grab before leaving. Though the teachers and students are now aware of this policy, it is easy to forget, out of habit. “It feels weird grabbing a pass before leaving. I’m not used to it yet and it reminds me of elementary school,” senior Nicole Bednanova said.

Besides the new hall pass policy, the security team is also trying to bond with students more. They see hundreds of kids everyday. “We want to do more than just security. We want the kids to be successful and feel comfortable. We want to have a connection with them that is more than just security,” Pucciarelli said.

Ava Castelli

Staff Writer