The bells are supposed to ring in hallways and classrooms one minute before classes start, at the start of class and when class is over. But recently, due to a technical issue, they have been ringing only a few times a day, causing problems at the beginning and end of classes for teachers and some students. It’s a problem the administration is aware of, and one they are working to fix.

“The bells and the inconsistency with them right now seem to be either a human error in the way that we’ve programmed them, or a technology error in the way that they’re functioning,” assistant principal Bruce Coachman said. “We can’t predict when they’re going to come on. They’re supposed to come on every day unless we turn them off. But we are having some glitches right now.”

When working correctly, the bells are only silenced for testing. But the issue keeping them from ringing has not been identified yet.

“Sometimes we turn them off on purpose, when we have testing, or when we have something that we don’t want the bells to interrupt the silence for those that are testing or whatnot,” Coachman said.

The missing bells have been inconvenient to some teachers who are unfamiliar with the exact time that classes start and finish. But for most students, it is not a problem.

“I don’t really notice the bells,” senior Pinkle Dhesi said. “I get the sense when class is about to be over, kind of like a fifth sense. I get that vibe like, alright it’s been forty minutes, time to go. I just wonder if they do that on purpose.”

While some students may not need the bells to tell them when they should leave, most can agree with the teachers that the inconsistency is causing some confusion.

“Well, I think it can be inconvenient and that it would be helpful if it was consistent,” teacher Allison Lyles said. “But I know that a lot of times it has to do with the weather, or testing, or other things, so there’s not much we can do to control that.”