What is the day in the life of a Dover High School student in 2026? Here is the breakdown of it: Dover High School has 8 periods a day. The fifth period is split into a 5a and 5b period, so that students may have lunch. The day actually seems to have 9 periods. We interviewed Crimsonian members to see what it would be like in their shoes for a day. We also used a few of our own experiences as well.
The people we interviewed were Nathanael, Camryn, and Kara, who are all seniors. Abigail and Carleigh represented the juniors. The sophomores included Georgia and Kyley. The freshmen were Presley, Allie, and Violet.
Each student gives a walkthrough of the schedule that he or she normally goes through in a day to explain what it might be like to be a high school student in the second semester during the year 2026. This is the highlight of those interviews.
First is Period 1. Kyley explains her typical start of the day: “I walk into the building at 7:30, go to my locker with my best friends, and head to [class].”
The doors to the school open at 7:30, and the late bell rings at 7:45, so there is not a lot of time for students to get to class. Below are some descriptions of first period class experiences.
First, Nathanael, who is a senior, presents his morning music class, “I go to [concert] choir. The choir is fun and interesting. Singing first thing in the morning is different from afternoon singing because you feel all groggy and tired. I like to sing so choir is one of my favorite periods of the day.” The concert choir is the larger choir and has a mix of boys and girls.
Then Carleigh, a junior, explains her math class, “I have Honors Algebra II with Mrs. McConnell. When I first walk into the class, I go over my homework while listening to people talk. The first thing we usually do is check my homework. We never use chromebooks in that class. It is paper pencil work. Mrs. McConnell has a website, so if you miss a day you can use it. She also has snack Friday, so every Friday, 2 students bring in snacks. Whenever we have an upcoming test, we usually play a review game one day before the test.” Honors classes are slightly more advanced than normal classes.
Last, Presley, a Freshman, talks about her history class. “My first period is World History and I enjoy the topic. We get to do a fun question of the day, it’s always something random. We normally make notes that sometimes help me out with study guides, primary sources, or homework. My teacher definitely interacts with us. We always have fun conversations, and I have the rollie desks and chairs in there which make it ten times better. I also have my best friend in that class.”
The bell rings to end the first period and students have a few minutes to gather their items and change classes. The bell rings again to mark the beginning of the first period. During this period is the pledge of allegiance and the announcements for the day. Here are some descriptions of this period for students.
Allie shares her experience as a freshman in her music class, “My second period is [treble] choir with Mrs. Hinkle, which is fun because we are working on our extravaganza and upcoming concert and awards night. We work on our choreography and singing in the style the piece requires, but we also get to work on our past pieces from OMEA. We take what the judges said and put it into practice for our friends and families.” Treble Choir is an only girls choir that is smaller than Concert Choir.
Next is Abigail, a junior, and her experience having a double period during this time, “2nd and 3rd period I have physics. In Physics, we do notes, white board work, assignments, labs, and tests. After taking this class, I have concluded that every math based class should use whiteboards. I love Mr. Zickel’s class because he lets us work at our own pace. If I fall behind, I have homework, but that is ok. I also love that physics is a logic based subject that builds as the year goes on. Even if I do not grasp a topic immediately, I catch up by the time we get the test. It is also a lot of math, but I do not mind. I am the only female in this class, but everyone in this class is super chill including the teacher. I enjoy being around these people. ”
Again, the bell rings, classes switch, and the bell rings again. Here is how some students experience 3rd period.
Nathanael speaks about his art class, “I have photography. Photography is a fun class. I am getting to learn new editing skills as well as photo taking skills that I have not learned before. I am taking old skills which I previously learned and am putting them into good use.”
Carleigh explains her music class, “Orchestra with Mr. Rutter. I play the cello. I usually sit next to my best friend. I think Mr. Rutter is a very fun teacher. I do think some kids are just really apathetic about playing their instrument. He tries to improve work ethic, but I think he does like working with students. For some reason, some of my stuff disappears in that class. I have an endpin strap that went missing at the beginning of the year and it never came back. Last year I lost my bow. ”
Presley describes her language class experience, “My third period, I have Spanish II. I am not very good at Spanish, but we always have something fun to do. The papers and activities really help me. My teacher knows what she is doing and always has lots of energy. On Fridays, we go do dances with the other Spanish classes, and it’s super fun.”
Classes switch again and 4th period begins. Nathanael continues about his English class, “This is ELA 12. This is my hardest period of the day because I am not great at language arts. I find the stories we read entertaining, and it is interesting to see how they end.”
Georgia, a sophomore, talks about her study period, “I have a study hall. There is usually not a lot going on. There are different groups of kids. I have no focus because my other classes are loud, so the very quiet study hall makes it easier to get work done.”
The 5th period is slightly more complicated than the other periods. The bell rings to end 4th period and rings again to start 5th period, but not everyone goes to a class. All students go to 5a, which can be lunch or a class. The bell does not ring in between 5a and 5b, so whenever the switch happens, it happens based on the times.
Kara speaks about her math class, “I go to 5B class. I have AP stats, and right now we are starting review for the AP test. We are doing 2 units in a day so we go through those notes and then we do a few review problems for homework.” AP is another advanced type of class. According to some, it is the hardest type of class to take.
Kyley responds about her study period, “After lunch I head to my study hall and pull out whatever I have to work on and listen to the people around me make weird noises as I try to focus.
Camryn speaks about when she leaves for lunch, “ I usually go out for lunch everyday, but it depends on the day. I drive my car out to places. Sometimes I go home, and sometimes I go out with friends and we usually go to McDonald’s or Wendy’s because they are close.”
Kara speaks about lunch here at school, “I go to the cafeteria line and it is really crowded and chaotic there. I sit with other seniors after getting my lunch. ”
Nathanael discusses a mixed perspective for lunch, “I get to go home during lunch or stay here. When I get to leave, I get a quick bite to eat at my house before I have to come back. Whenever I am here at the school for lunch, I sit with my friends and have a good chat while eating. ”
After lunches end the students head off to 6th period, so here’s what they had to say:
Camryn has this to say about her 6th period, “This is Comp II, a CCP class. This is a college credit class. I am able to transfer this credit to other colleges though, even if I do not graduate at Akron. You basically spend the entire semester working up to your capstone project, which is a point that has to do with your future career and then write an issue about it. You follow other steps such as creating a website, writing an annotated bibliography, making a video, etc. I think it also prepares you for advanced college writing.”
Nathanael Mason says, “ I have been lifting weights. In weight lifting, we head into the weight room and we are set up and ready for a good lift with the core and auxiliary we have. I personally enjoy this class as I enjoy building strength.”
After 6th period students head to 7th period. The students we personally interviewed are all in Crimsonian. Here’s what they had to say:
Camyrn says this, “This is Crimsonian. Since I am a co-editor, I have a different responsibility in the class. I am a leader and I have to make sure everyone has something to write about. I monitor their progress and edit their articles once they turn them back in. Editing is a longer process than most people realize. I work with Sydney., She oversees one class and I oversee the other.”
Carleigh adds, “This is Crimsonian. We are pretty much always on chromebooks and we write maybe 1-2 articles a month. It is a very talkative, friendly class. Everyone likes to talk to each other. Since it is a more chill elective, we can sometimes organize little parties.”
Allie points out, “My seventh period class is Crimsonian with Mrs. Nottingham. In that class we work on articles. I just wrote a piece about spring break!”
After the 7th period, we reach the last period of the day. Everyone varied their responses here. Let’s hear what they have to say:
Kara says this, “I have independent study, so I just go home during this period and I get ready for softball practice.
Allie explains, “In my eighth period I have band with Mr. Redd and Mr. Carrick. In that class we are split into two bands: a concert band (which I am in) and a symphonic band. Symphonic band plays harder pieces and consists of mostly upper classmen, while concert band is the slightly easier class with mostly freshmen and sophomores. Right now, we are preparing pieces for the spring concert in May!”
In summary, this is what it is like to be a DHS student in 2026, and just remember, maybe your experience isn’t just the same as others so be kind!
