BHS will be implementing a day titled “Bridge Day” on Jan. 17, 2025. This day will allow students the opportunity to improve their grades, while requiring students with a D or an F in any of their classes to attend school for the day to get their grade up. Students with an A, B, or C grade in their classes will be allowed to come to school to improve their grades if they wish, but attendance will not be mandatory for these students.
“The purpose of Bridge Day is to give students one last opportunity to improve their grade, as a final sort of wrap up,” principal Bryant Bednarek said. “We have a philosophy that it’s not always when you know it, it’s that you know it. This gives students one last chance if they miss something earlier in the semester to show that they have mastered a certain skill, and therefore their grade reflects that.”
With the semester ending, students may feel two different ways; they may feel discouraged by their poor grades and give up, or they may feel encouraged by their good grades and finish strong. Factors such as seasonal depression with the winter coming can also affect how students feel during school, in turn causing more pressure and stress to build up.
“I worry for those that feel the pressure’s too much and then give up on their academics. They think they don’t have enough time so it doesn’t matter,” guidance counselor Matt Willett said. “But it does. Every day counts and every day matters, and I know our staff here is more than willing to work with students all the way up to the final second and I just wish I could get that to the students. Utilize those resources all the way to the end. If that means a Bridge Day is the last chance, use it. It’s never too late to make improvements.”
The final grade check will happen on the Monday of the last week of school before the semester change, Jan. 13. Students with an F or D in any of their classes will be required to attend Bridge Day in order to improve their grade. However, if they improve their grade before Bridge Day arrives, they can check in with their teacher and Bednarek to confirm that Bridge Day is no longer mandatory for them.
“We are going to run our normal schedule, so students will have to go from class to class. For example, if you’re failing a third hour class but you’re in first hour, first hour will serve as a study period for third hour,” Bednarek said. “You are required to be at school for the whole day. That is done on purpose as a push to incentivise not needing to attend and improve your grades before you get to Bridge Day.”
Students that have an A, B, or C that wish to improve their grade are still allowed to attend Bridge Day. However, those students will have to check in with their teacher by a certain time to allow their teachers to prepare necessary materials for them. Things such as labs, tests, or quizzes will be able to be made up during this day. Students that choose to attend are not required to stay for the entire day either; they can attend for only the class period in which they want to improve their grade.
“We don’t usually run (Bridge Day) spring semester because the way to recover or remediate a grade is built in with summer school happening right at the end of the school year,” Bednarek said. “I have talked to other schools that do something similar to this. The Madison school district does something like this and so does Ripon.”
Bridge Day gives students the opportunity to improve their grades if their grades are not up to their expectations. This extra work day possesses the opportunity to help students with grade related stress, and give students the opportunity to relax if their grades are good and they do not need to attend Bridge Day.
“A lot of the stress that we find with students revolves around their academics, they want to get the best grades they can,” Willett said. “The Bridge Day gives them the chance to catch up on something, meet and communicate with their teachers, and ultimately finish what they need to finish before their grades are locked in for the semester. If the students feel they have that one more opportunity, I strongly believe it helps their mental health.”
Ending the semester with good grades that match a student’s expectations can also give them more motivation moving forward into the new semester.
“If you finish strong at the end of the semester and a student feels they have done their best, the momentum carries over,” Willett said. “The positive thoughts, the positive feeling of yourself carries into the second semester. When the second semester starts they don’t have the residual effects of negativity from the first semester. They have more of a positive outlook towards the semester. This is because they think ‘okay, I got through the first semester, I can do the second semester’.”
Students also say that the Bridge Day is a good opportunity to improve their grades and give them a boost for the next semester.
“It gives students that need an extra chance to catch up time to do so,” senior Olivia Faulkner said. “I like that I don’t have to be here, and I like that we’re free to go to classes that we need to improve in. Students need a better opportunity to learn if they can’t do it in time during class.”
Overall, Bridge Day provides an opportunity for students to catch up on their missing work and improve their grades before the semester is over.
“We’re hoping students will try to take care of their grades before (Bridge Day) arrives,” Bednarek said. “When students fail classes, it’s very taxing on our system and their ability to graduate, especially required classes because they have to take that class again and change their schedule. If we can spend just one extra day to clean things up and get a student to pass a class that maybe they otherwise wouldn’t, it saves a lot of time and work and gives the student a better chance to succeed.”
