Every Monday after school, students are getting their gears turning in a new study hall that includes dinner. At 3:15 p.m. in room 501, Candy Birch, assistant principal; Laurie Plankers, English teacher, and Carol Nycklemoe, social science teacher, are available to help with missing assignments, studying or even finding online textbooks.

On Monday, Nov. 9, almost 40 students attended the study hall, and more are expected to join in the weeks to come.

The study hall is split up into two sessions. The first session lasts from 3:15-5:15 p.m., and the second session lasts from 5:15 until 7:45 p.m.

Birch applied for a grant to fund a study hall for freshmen earlier in the year.

“The study hall is for everyone, but initially was meant as a way for freshmen to focus on their work,” Birch said. “Early success is important for freshmen.”

The food is paid for partially by the grant, but is reliant from discounts from local restaurants. The out The grant was written to cover expenses for around 30 students to attend the after school session.

Dinner lasts from 5:15 until 6 p.m. and is served to students who were participating in the study hall or available for students coming from extracurricular activities.

The study hall has access to laptops so students who might not have Internet access at home can use their textbooks online.

“We wanted to be sure everyone had the opportunity to have access to their online textbooks,” Birch said.

This school year the social science and English classes are using mostly classroom sets for their learning in school. So online textbooks are assigned to students.

The grant was written to only last until third quarter, but Birch is trying to extend the study hall until the end of the school year.