Besides seminar, even block day will also have an advisory period this year, and the school’s new security measures have been installed and are online.

The new advisory period will take 25 minutes and will occur between the second and fourth hour block on Thursdays. Seminar will be after sixth hour and last 45 minutes.

In the new advisory period, students will complete a state- mandated individual plan of study, which will use the Career Cruising software to help students plan their futures. The individual plan of study will have assignments that need to be completed.

Students will also learn lessons through their advisory period teachers; the lessons will be constructed by the counselors on topics such as mental health and student support.

“[Reducing seminar time] was the only way to meet the state mandate within the school day,” Keri Snyder, assistant principal, said.

During the last school year, the district installed new security systems and improved current systems.

A secure buzzer entry system was added along with more keyless access points, new cameras, and a door alarm that goes off if a door is propped open for too long.

The new measures are a part of a district-wide project that started in 2014 with the elementary schools getting the secure buzzer entry system mentioned above along with exterior cameras. The middle schools received the same systems as well as some interior cameras the following year.

Existing equipment at the high schools was upgraded and new cameras were added “at the discretion of the principal, [district] leadership, and the security resource officer,” said Joel Kershner, security specialist.