Power hour is a unique part of your typical school day at Panther Creek.  Here at Panther Creek, students have the privilege of an hour of freedom, and it empowers them with the time to do what they need to. Whether that time is used for hanging out with friends, catching up on schoolwork or tutorials, or just eating lunch, power hour is a valuable part of Panther Creek High School culture, and benefits both students and teachers alike. “ 

At Panther Creek, we have lunch for an hour instead of a typical 30-45 minutes. We get free time, and the choice to do whatever we want, which is why it’s so appreciated! “I like to chill with my friends during Power Hour,” says Dkay Thrift, and Coach Mutsch said, “The fact that students have an hour to be able to eat lunch get tutorials, socialize with their friends, and take a break from school is an awesome thing”. Power hour also gives students the benefit of time, which some students use to go to tutorials to get extra help in classes. 

Power Hour has been going on since the school opened in 2022, and with more and more people attending Panther Creek, Power Hour is being changed, in big and small ways. This year, Panther Creek is using a hybrid schedule where we have 30-minute separate lunches on Monday and Friday, and Power Hour on Tuesday Wednesday, and Thursday. We didn’t have it for most of the 23-24 year because it was used irresponsibly!  

So, why do we like it so much? Dkay Thrift said, “We get to chill and it’s like a mental break”. Power hour allows students some calm in a typical busy school day, “Power hour is a wonderful thing.” Coach Mutsch said. Many teachers have tutorials or retests during power hour, we asked some students if they planned on going, “Yes, it’s gonna help me get my grades up,” Kylie Davis says. “A lot of your teachers can’t do before and after school tutorials like me. I’m a coach, I have before and after-school responsibilities. So if you need help with anything then you gotta go find them during that power hour time”, says Coach Mutsch. Last year we barely ever had it! Power hour gets taken away because of things like litter from lunch, misbehavior, and fighting, “A lot of folks have left a lot of trash lying around and that was one of the biggest issues we’ve had. Also with students not doing what they’re supposed to be doing during power hour including hanging out in the stairwells and places they are not supposed to, we’ve had a number of fights in the past that were happening because we didn’t have those areas monitored or students were in an area they weren’t supposed to be and they somehow got there when they weren’t supposed to be there.” Coach Mutsch said. Being a good community is essential to keeping power hour and preserving the privilege we love. Kylie Davis said, “No fighting, keep clean, and follow the rules”.

Power Hour is one of the many things that makes Panther Creek different from other high schools, It’s a blessing to have in a busy and stressful school day. The power to choose, and make a good choice can make a difference in a student’s life. Even though power hour may change over the years, we’ll remember how it changed our experience at Panther Creek.

If we want to keep the privilege, we should strive to be the best community we can.