For years, students at DGS have operated under the same school calendar, with first semester ending at the end of January and summer beginning anytime between June 5 and June 10. The 2017-18 school year is going to bring changes to the calendar, moving the beginning of school to August 18 and the end of school to late May. First semester final exams will be held the final three days before Winter Break.

The changes to the calendar mean that this summer will be considerably shorter than normal. Instead of having almost three months out of the classroom, DGS students will have just over two months to relish in the summer weather before returning to the grind of a new school year.

There are plenty of drawbacks to having such a short summer, sure, but ultimately the benefits of changing the school calendar to have final exams before Winter Break outweigh the potential negative consequences.

The most concerning issue with starting school in mid-August is the heat in the DGS building. Because most classrooms do not have air conditioning, students may be forced to sit in humid, blistering classrooms for the first few weeks of school.

Ultimately, though, don’t we always sit in humid, blistering classrooms for the first few weeks of school? Having an additional week of heat will not kill us, and I’m sure that by the time summer rolls around we’ll be grateful to be getting out of school in late May when the weather really begins to turn nice.

The other popular complaint about a shorter summer is that we’ll have less time to enjoy our break before we’re rushed back into the classroom. While this doesn’t really apply to anyone besides the current junior class, who will be seniors next year, the promise of a longer summer in 2018, after I’ve graduated high school and am free from the responsibilities of college applications and the next impending school year, is enough for me to sacrifice a shortened summer this year.

You will still have time to go to North Avenue Beach and Lollapalooza. You will still have time to do everything that you want to do. Plus, the free time that you lose from starting school earlier will be made up when you have Winter Break to enjoy yourself without the cloud of final exams hanging over your head.

As big a drag it is to be getting out of school weeks after your friends at other schools, it will be worth it in December 2017 and May 2018 when we get to enjoy both winter and summer breaks without the responsibilities of high school looming.