Bells Aren’t Working And Here Is Why

Electronic+bells+down+on+Monday%2C+September+9%2C+2019

Charlotte Murphy

Electronic bells down on Monday, September 9, 2019

Since this morning, all the electronic bells around Westside High School have not been working. According to Westside High School Facilities Manager, Virgil Coleman, the problem is coming from the website that controls the bells.

“Somewhere in our system the clock thinks it is Sunday so it’s not running the bell system at all,” Coleman said. “It could possibly be [because of the three day weekend last week], but we are also having issues with the website where we deal with our bells and we can’t access it to check.”

Teachers, students and faculty in the building have been struggling to keep track of time throughout the day, such as FCS Instructor Michaela Tigani.

“So far it has been hard figuring out what time the classes get over and [trying to] get students to [their next] class on time,” Tigani said. “[It is definitely not the first time] something like this has happened.” 

Tigani said that she noticed a lot of her students have been tardy to class today, also mentioning that it has been hard for teachers to keep track of the time.

“Us teachers get caught up in what we’re [teaching] and forget to pay attention to the time,” Tigani said.

Freshman Lizzie Smith said that many students have been taking time out of class to look at their phones and access the Westside High School Scheduler app as well as asking teachers about the time. Smith said she has been nervous about being late but that the teachers have been helpful.

“The teachers have also been really good about looking at their phones and clocks to make sure they let us out on time,” Smith said. “[Making sure I get my phone out] and making sure I’m not late and constantly checking [the time] has definitely been a struggle, and it has been very nerve racking.”