tThe beginning of the second semester felt like a rude awakening. After being able to sleep in for the past two weeks, all of a sudden having to wake up at 6:00 AM and try to put myself in a hard-working mindset felt like a bit of a kick in the face.

I had just gotten to school and was sitting with my friends catching up on the last few stories from winter break. That’s when it happened.

The trumpet sound.

Over the intercom came a blaring trumpet playing the tune of “Reveille,” which by definition means “a signal sounded to wake personnel in the armed forces.” And while the students of Broomfield are certainly not military personnel, this trumpet sound was definitely a wake up call to everyone in the building.

My friends and I just looked at each other like, “what the heck was that?” and “what happened to the old bell?” We moved on from the instance fairly quickly and went to class. Five minutes later, at the end of the passing period, I was expecting to hear the bell that I had come to know and love from first semester.

Nope.

The intercom came on again, this time playing sounds from what I perceived as a xylophone. And again, everyone looked at each other like, “what the heck?”

I have come to the conclusion that I have mixed emotions about the new bells.

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On a good note, the bells have certainly made passing period slightly more interesting. The first bell of the day has so far been varying, and this certainly brings some anticipation toward what the next bell is gonna be. The biggest thing that I like about the bell is that it is far more interesting than the old bell, but at the same time, there is just something about that classic school bell that just feels right.

On a negative note, I have found that most people don’t really like the new bells. A lot of my teachers have asked classes whether or not they like the new bells, and the vast majority of students do not enjoy them.

When asked about the new bells, sophomore Stella Olson said, “I feel like they are aggravating. I don’t need repeating tones to let me know that I need to go to class.”

Mrs. Peter does not like how long the bell lasts since it interrupts her teaching during fifth period. “They are a bigger distraction than they need to be, and they are disrupting the learning environment, which should be a number one priority,” she said. Mr. Hazzard timed the trumpet bell to see how long it was and found out that it lasts for a whopping twenty-three seconds.

The biggest question that was stuck in my mind was why did the bells change?

I decided to talk to Principal Ramsey to find out.

“We got a new bell system because our old bell system was so old, it couldn’t be fixed. There were places where we couldn’t hear it, there were places where it was too loud,” she said. Due to some leftover money, the school decided to spend it on a new bell system that has over sixty different sounds and can be customized to each period and different parts of the building.

One of the biggest issues that I have with the new bells is during fifth period, they sound in the middle of class and since they last so long, they disrupt class, forcing us to stop what we are doing to wait and listen for the bell to finish.

With the new bell system, this problem can be solved. “This system, and we haven’t figured it out yet, but we have the ability to program the north side and the south side differently so that when you’re in fifth period in the north side, you don’t hear any bells in class,” Principal Ramsey said. “We are getting feedback from teachers, and we want to get feedback from the students so that we can improve.”

After talking to Principal Ramsey, I have an appreciation for the new bells. With these new sounds, Mrs. Ramsey is trying to make passing periods more fun and to get students’ attention so that they listen. I think that since we have gotten so used to the old bell, that the new bells throw us off, but in a matter of time, I believe that we will get used to them.

For the students who aren’t the biggest fans of the new bells, don’t worry — in a couple of weeks they shouldn’t be as long-lasting as they are now. Mrs. Ramsey should be sending out a poll soon to get your opinion about the new bells, so stay tuned and please give us your thoughts.

You are the students, your opinion matters!