On March 14th, the Howard County Board of Mental Health (HCBMH) made a decision that altered how high schools operate. Recess, the short thirty minute break everyone looked forward to as a child, is returning for high schoolers. Starting the fall of 2025, all high schools are required to add a thirty minute break after lunch dedicated to recess. HCBMH decided on the idea of recess, as the phone took a toll on the mental wellbeing of Howard County high school students.
“I think this a great idea and I am in full support of it. I look forward to enjoying it next school year,” junior Lisa Frank shared.
To make sure students are comfortable during recess and are using the allotted time wisely, high schools are also required to add a playground and a nap room to make sure students have activities to do during recess. This helps ensure that students will not sneak their phones or other devices during recess, but instead will utilize the fun equipment. In addition, other equipment from the gym, such as jump ropes, balls and hula hoops, will be available for use.
“I will definitely be using the jump ropes to play games I used to as a child, like mousetrap and school,” sophomore Myne Kraft exclaimed.
The playground will replace a portion of the parking lot next to the tennis courts; however,as having it near the field, basketball courts and tennis courts will allow students to indulge in those activities during recess as well.
“My friends and I love to play basketball after school, so getting any extra time to play is always exciting,” sophomore James Bron shared, “I definitely would utilize this time to play outside and enjoy the nice weather during the fall and spring seasons.”
The nap room will be in the smaller gym near the athletics entrance, which will be open during recess. This room will consist of a calming setting: dim lighting, mattresses, blankets and stuffed animals, giving sleep-deprived students a small break from the stress of school. The phone ban will be in effect in these areas, They must be used with low brightness and volume is only allowed if wired headphones accompany the chromebook, to not disturb sleeping students.
“As a student taking 4 APs, I find myself only getting 2-4 hours of sleep max due to the amount of work I have to finish every day. The nap room would definitely be handy and would help me recover even thirty minutes of sleep that I lost,” junior Rob Lox shared.
Another great advantage of this extension is that it allows students to have more time to eat, rather than rushing to eat and having barely enough time to talk to friends. In addition, many students make up things such as tests or counselor appointments during lunch, which gives them no time to eat during the day.
“I have class on the third floor and get to the lunch line pretty late, leaving me usually only 10-15 minutes to actually eat. If we got more time, I wouldn’t have to rush as much and would actually get time to eat and talk to my friends,” sophomore Bahka Johnson stated.
Overall, many underclassmen MRHS students are extremely in favor of this new implementation by the HCBMH, and look forward to utilizing the time to spend more time with their friends, catch up on sleep and relax.