Natalie DeGraves

Mr.Smith

Junior ELA

6 November 2023

Should Upperclassmen Have the Privilege to Leave Lunch and Clipper Block

Do you feel like upper-classmen have no real privileges associated with seniority at

Newburyport High School? Lots of driving students feel as though they should have the privilege

to leave the premises for a short period for their enjoyment and to elevate their privileges at the

school and build their independence. For lunch period and additional time in Clipper block

Upperclassmen should have the option to leave the school premises for a reasonable amount of

time due to their seniority and necessary independence to be ready for the independence college

brings. Although it may bring conversations of safety hazards and worries of attentiveness,

upperclassmen should have the ability to leave during their scheduled lunch period to evaluate

their independence and relieve the stress of a rigorous academic schedule.

To help keep up students' GPAs and allow for the upperclassmen to show their

independence as the older kids in the school. As part of seniority, upperclassmen should have the

privilege to leave for lunch and clipper block. College is only a year or two away at this stage

creating a new chapter of independence for students. The first step of independence can start

here. With being the oldest in the building “seniors have worked hard throughout all four years

and have earned the privilege to be able to go out” (SNO). Also counting for juniors they have

been in the building and they are approaching their senior year where they then have to start

thinking about college and life after high school. Creating this new form of independence for

upperclassmen can be a new step to being more productive. Personally, when I am doing work
outside of school I am more productive than when in school. Some people could think the

opposite which is why there would be the option so if students felt as if they were more

productive in school during Clipper Block they could stay at school. Further demonstrating the

dependence on students' grades, Newburyport High School has a grade point average of C which

is not bad but could be improved. Clipper block is a time for students to meet with teachers for

extra help or to make up any quizzes or tests and also to get any homework they have done. So

there should be the option only for the kids who have good grades meaning if you are not failing

a class or have below a C in any class. This could create discipline for those who need to work

on a certain class and they can use the time to get their grade up so they earn the privilege to

have the option to leave school for clipper block. When having a C in a class it is only a couple

more bad grades from failing which could lead to stress levels increasing which is why being

forced to stay for help will benefit students in the end.

Students are all caught up in school and a lot of students are very stressed out daily.

Letting upperclassmen leave for lunch and clipper block can relieve some of the stress and allow

for time to relax. The main occurrence for students' stress increasing is school, “Schools stress

students, and sometimes they need to get away for a while. Leaving the school during lunch

would help students relax and temporarily forget about the stress school brings them”(SNO). I

like to have time to escape from being stressed over grades and school work and to focus on

something else for the time being rather than being sports or friends or even just relaxing. The

workload school gives can be, “The main cause for stressed-out students is the heavy coursework

they are taking on. Teens who want to get a jump on college may also sign up for extra classes,

only adding to the burden. Too often, the teen takes on subjects that exceed their academic

ability, causing added stress ” (BNI). When thinking about college, students get stressed out
instantly due to feeling behind or unprepared. Also the amount of homework a night can lead to

students being sleep deprived which is unhealthy. With students leaving for lunch and clipper

blocking, stress levels can be decreased by having time to relax or go home and do your school

work where you don't have the temptation of talking to friends and being unproductive at school.

Clipper block is a time for students to get caught up on their work which would also

release stress because they can’t see teachers for extra help. It can also be a safety issue for the

school with kids leaving school and then coming back in. When kids are coming in and out of

the school it leads to other people having easier access to come in and out of school. With the

doors always being open and closed, “Having a steady flow of people coming and going from

campus greatly increases the risk of strangers entering campus” (The Southerner). Causing safety

issues for the students learning in the school. Intruders would be able to blend it with the crowd

better by having a “steady flow” of students coming in and out of the building. With also having

students coming in and out of the building, “It brings safety risks to both those who leave and

those who remain on campus; not to mention the temptation to skip the rest of the day after

chowing down on your third Big Mac”(The Southerner). When leaving school to feel more

relaxed and less stressed this could cause the temptation to just stay at home because you are

comfortable. With clipper blocks at the end of the day as we do now students won't have the

temptation to stay home and miss other classes. Clipper block is a time for students to get work

done and not go home and relax, school is a 6-hour day and each student should be treated fairly

with having an equal amount of learning time.

By allowing upperclassmen with the privilege and independence to leave school for lunch

and clipper block the stress levels of students can be decreased and can cause more productivity.

However, it can be a safety issue with having a steady flow of students coming in and out of the
building causing it to be an easier access for intruders to come in. There are ways to prevent

safety issues by having students come in and out the front door and have to fill out a paper so it

is tracked. Overall it would cause a healthier habitat for students and students would be happier

to come to school and learn if upperclassmen were granted the privilege to leave for lunch and

clipper block.
 Works Cited

Aminzadeh, Arastou. “5 Causes of Student Stress.” BNI Treatment Centers, 21 September 2022,

https://bnitreatment.com/what-causes-student-stress/. Accessed 11 November 2023.

“Should students be allowed to go out and eat during lunch at school? [Opinion].” Raider Nation

Chronicle,

https://nhsnews.org/16478/showcase/should-students-be-allowed-to-go-out-and-eat-durin

g-lunch-at-school-opinion/. Accessed 11 November 2023.

“Students should not be able to leave for lunch.” the Southerner Online, 12 February 2018,

https://thesoutherneronline.com/66414/comment/students-should-not-be-able-to-leave-for

-lunch/. Accessed 11 November 2023.

 H Argument Essay Rubric

Skill Not Yet Foundational Proficient Advanced

Identifies a basic claim Appears in first Thesis establishes a

Thesis paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a Establishes

topic and a claim counter-argument in
claim

Topic sentences Topic sentences have Topic sentences have

Claims/Reasons contain basic claims clear and distinct clear and distinct
claims that relate to claims that relate to
the thesis the thesis and make
nuanced points that
consider alternate
perspectives or
counterarguments

Uses some brief Uses multiple pieces Uses a variety of

Evidence examples, or one of evidence (personal evidence (see
example, to support experience, anecdotes, previous column) that
each claim; may all be survey, research etc.) supports each claim;
personal experience to support each claim different types of
evidence in each body
paragraph

Use of reliable outside

sources

Brief explanation of Explains how Provides strong

Analysis how evidence evidence supports explanations of how
supports topic topic sentence/claim evidence supports
sentence of individual of individual topic sentence and the
paragraphs paragraphs and the thesis while also
thesis considering
counterarguments
 Includes at least 2
concessions in body Seamlessly mentions
paragraphs concession, and offers
response/rebuttal

Counter- Makes some mention Structure Well-structured and

Argument of opposing argument counter-argument effective
which: counter-argument
Mentions the which:
opposing argument, Establishes an aspect
some mention of how of the opposing
opposing argument argument, clearly and
may be disproven logically disproves the
argument
Some elements missing Heading is correctly No errors in MLA
MLA Format or some errors in MLA formatted format
format
Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted (if
sources are used)

Works Cited format:

hanging indent,
double-spaced,
alphabetized, starts on
a new page (if sources
are used)

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format (if
sources are used)
Shows evidence of Quotes are correctly Quotes are correctly
Conventions basic proofreading integrated most of the integrated
time (if sources are
used) Shows evidence of
careful proofreading
Follows essay
organization (claims in Includes fluid
topic sentence; transitions between
evidence; analysis; ideas
concluding sentences)
Eliminates wordiness
Shows evidence of
proofreading
 Utilizes mostly simple Some varied sentence Constantly varied
Fluency sentence structures structures sentence structures

Some use of advanced Advanced use of

vocabulary vocabulary; including
use of active verbs