Early bird, as a sophomore, and my first year taking the class, is one of the few classes that you are guaranteed to have with your friends. Early bird students, on every day of the school week except Thursday for PLC (YEA!), have to be changing for gym at 6:30 a.m. and this class ends at 7:35. The P.E. teachers normally let us out to change earlier, so there is about ten extra minutes to get ready for first hour. Also, early bird gym goes by the name “zero hour,” not because it’s before first period, but as I like to think it’s because everyone has “zero energy” before school begins. Once you have some coffee or start moving more in class, you begin to wake up. I do love this class because I get to squeeze another fun elective into my schedule and I have another class with my friends. Here’s what other students in early bird said about their experiences:

How long have you been taking the early bird gym class? 

Julia Kaniuk, Sophomore: “I took early bird my freshmen year, and I’m taking it this year too.”  

Macy Dressel, Junior: “I started in sophomore year. I wanted to take it freshman year, but I couldn’t. But since then its worked out for me.”  

Danny Atkinson, Senior: “Since freshman year.” 

Will you take early bird again next year? 

Ethan Montau, Freshman: “Probably, it is kinda nice to have a third elective.” 

JK: “Yes, that’s the plan.” 

MD: “Yeah.”  

What is the best and worst thing about taking early bird? 

EM: “Getting an extra class and getting up early.” 

JK: “The best thing is that the P.E. teachers take it a little easier on you since it’s early in the morning, and there’s a lot of time to change, and the worst thing is getting up so early.” 

MD: “Well, I think the best thing is you get more classes into your schedule, like more fun classes you might want to take, but I guess if you aren’t that good at waking up early it’s kinda hard.”  

DA: “The best thing is probably getting over it in the morning, so I don’t have to worry about getting exhausted later in the day. The worst thing is probably having to get up early in the morning.” 

Would you recommend this class to other students? Why or why not? 

EM: “Definitely” 

JK: “Yes, I would. It is much better than regular P.E. You don’t have to change in the middle of the day and be walking around all sweaty and stinky, and you have a cool down period between the end of early bird and your first period. “ 

MD: “I would just because it’s very helpful for getting everything into your schedule, and it’s, honestly, I think more fun than normal gym.”  

DA: “Yeah. It’s kinda just a lot easier to get it over with.” 

Any other comments or things you would like to share? 

JK: “Totally worth it!”  

MD: “I think early bird is a more social environment because you are basically just going to school really early to talk to all your friends.”  

Moving on from a student’s perspective, this is what early bird gym teacher, Ms. Baker, has to say. 

How long have you been teaching early bird? 

“This is my fourth year, but this is my first full year, so I usually for Sophomore I just do the first semester, but this year we have enough kids for two semesters.” 

Do you find any differences between your regular class and your early bird class? 

“Early bird they are so full of energy for this early in the morning, and they are always a great group of kids to work with.” 

How would you describe your experiences as an early bird teacher? 

“It is usually pretty easy until winter comes when it is dark and cold out. Then it’s a little harder to find that motivation to get up, but as soon as I get here and see the kids and see how energized they are; it makes it worth it.” 

Will you continue to teach early bird next year? 

“Yes, I will.” 

Looking back to the beginning of the year, Ethan Montau thought early bird gym would be “Just gym before school, I guess.” He is right! There’s nothing different or weird or anything to be afraid of about taking early bird. As one can read, most students love taking this class. As they say, the early bird gets the worm, but in this case, they get the extra elective in their schedule. If you can, please consider take early bird next year in your schedule. Come join and be part of the early bird crew!