Say goodbye to weekday detentions. Beginning this year, the decision to hit snooze, stay in bed, and cut class will only add another early morning to the tiresome week. All detentions given out to students will now be served at 8am on selected Saturdays in the NASH Library, where unfortunate participants will find themselves the newest additions to The Breakfast Club.

The new policy put into place by the NASH administration has left students with mixed feelings.

“It is inconvenient to make the detentions on Saturday morning,” Taylor Helkowski said. “Students may not be able to get rides there.”

However, the administrators implemented the program with an eye on enhancing school culture.  The goal is to make NASH an even better learning environment than before.

“The more you are in school, the more opportunity you have to learn,” NASH Principal John Kreider said.

Kreider and the administrative team designed the policy in response to recent legislation at the state level.  PA Governor Tom Wolf recently passed Act 138, which addresses school truancy. The law requires principals to hold an Attendance Improvement Conference when a student reaches three unexcused absences from school. If a student exceeds three unexcused absences, they will join an attendance improvement program run through the school or community.

Although the new NASH policy is designed to discourage unexcused absences, Kreider and the Assistant Principals are not letting other misconduct slide. Saturday detentions will also be handed out for tardiness to class, class disruption, and disturbing the learning environment of others. The administrative team’s belief is that student misconduct will decline with the thought of a silent Saturday at NASH looming overhead

“Saturday detentions serve as a deterrent to poor behavior,” Kreider said. “We are looking to add a different direction of discipline but at the same time hoping to change the behavior.”

The hope is that NASH students will be even more focused on their school responsibilities than before, and senior Max Miccuci didn’t disagree.

“Saturday detentions are actually making people want to stop misbehaving compared to the other weekday detentions in which kids could just take a nap,” Micucci said.

Kristen Chomos added to Micucci’s reaction. “I believe that students will be more inclined to be well-behaved because the repercussions of coming in on a Saturday morning seem harsher than doing so on a weekday,” the junior said.

In the legendary 1980’s film, the five members of the Breakfast Club come to defy the system and overlook their differences, and in the end they emerge as young heroes.  In other words, it’s fantasy.

The NASH policy will not be even remotely as glamorous as the film, and there will certainly be no opportunities for socializing, dancing, and wandering the empty halls.  Instead, it will be silence, reflection, a good amount of studying, and if Kreider’s hunch is right, change for the better.