Driving by Carlmont High School on the mornings of March 18 and 19, one would probably be confused by the lack of cars filling the street.
Local San Carlos resident Kian Seddighnezad, who was driving by on his way to school, was puzzled by the lack of traffic.
“I was pleasantly surprised as I was driving by because my dad and I were expecting a lot of traffic. The confusing part is that we saw some kids driving and walking into the school, but nowhere near the amount that there usually is. It wasn’t until later that I found out from my friends that Carlmont had a test.”
On March 18 and 19, all sophomores at Carlmont High school were sent to school at normal start times to take the California High School Exit Exam (C.A.H.S.E.E). The rest of the school were given a very late start, as first period didn’t start till 12:14 p.m. on the 18, and 1:01 p.m. on the 19. This schedule gave students a lot of free time, as many students took full advantage of it.
How Carlmont students used the extra four hours varied, but a common choice among them was sleep.
“I slept a lot,” said freshman Ethan Wong. “The one thing I’ve learned about high school is that you don’t get a lot of time to sleep, so I made the most out of the schedule. That was the most awake I’ve felt at school all year.
Junior Parsa Padidar also chose to catch up on some sleep, while also getting some lunch.
“The last two days were awesome. I got to sleep in for a couple hours then I was able to get food with my friends right before school each day. It was almost like a weekend. Well, almost like the weekend.”
This “mini-break” left some sophomores frustrated at the free time they were missing out on, as they forced to spend more than seven hours total in a silent classroom, taking a test that determined if they were allowed to graduate from high school or not.
“Yeah, I was a little bit angry that everyone else got to sleep in,” said sophomore Vincent Todesco. “Especially, when we didn’t get school off last year for the C.A.H.S.E.E. It was nice to have less classes though, plus I had less homework. I just hope that we get the same chance next year when the [current] freshman take the test.”
