As the bell chimes at 8 a.m. instead of 7:35 a.m., students are starting their day at a calmer pace and with fewer bleary eyes. The 2025-2026 school year marks the first year of Westford Academy’s implementation of later school start times, following nearly two years of debate since Oct. 2023. The...

At WA, most students' days are filled with challenging classes and an incredibly heavy workload. For many, this can lead to feelings such as burnout, which cause long term strain on the body and the mind, or even just an overall feeling of mental exhaustion. Although it may not seem so, there is a solution...

With the Westford School Committee’s unanimous decision to push WA’s start time to 8:00 a.m., student schedules will face an inevitable change beginning in the 2025-2026 school year. Although the shift will result in temporary difficulties regarding after-school routines, a later start time is necessary...

Getting up at 5:30 a.m. for school is really hard. I know by this point, WA students say they are used to it, but are they really? It is hard to get used to getting up so early while it is still dark out, and running on five hours of sleep. As of late, there have been ongoing discussions on how American...

For students all across the world, including those at Westford Academy, sacrificing a night of sleep is worth finishing an assignment, binging a show, or spending a night with friends. I know I have certainly been guilty of sacrificing my sleep for all of these things. Sleep deprivation is nothing new...

With a large number of students coming to class sleep-deprived, the school committee has been debating the idea of later school start times as a solution to this continuous problem. I believe that if Westford Academy were to implement a later starting time, it would be a step in the right direction...

For the past two years, the school committee has been proposing later school times. They hope to implement this change next year but there have been many factors that they must address before they execute the plan. When the change is put in place, WA and the middle schools would start at 8:05 AM and...

Superintendent Everett Olsen has proposed a later start time for all students in the district, with the intention of allowing high school and middle school students in particular to maintain a healthier sleep schedule. The proposal entails moving the start time from 7:35 to 8:00, which would change the...

By Madie Blais Staff Writer 1) Get Exercise! Getting exercise improves the length and quality of your sleep. Be careful because exercise within 3-4 hours before bed can actually cause restlessness and cause you to lose sleep. 2) Block Clock & No Blue Light Seeing a clock will make it...