There was a sharp, burnt smell in the air as seventh-grader, Tyler Croom, guided an electric polishing tool along the surface of a caribou antler with steady hands.
A whirring, buzz filled his classroom at Meshik School in Port Heiden. The areas he had already polished gleamed bright and white.
By starting later and ending earlier, the new calendar cuts 77.5 hours of instruction and saves more than $400,000.
The tricky part is students still have the same requirements they need to fulfill in a year, but they have less time to finish the standards.
That's where project's like Croom's come become crucial.
In addition to completing projects during the school year that fulfill a variety of requirements concurrently, students can also document summer activities, like commercial fishing, to count toward school standards.
While fulfilling school standards efficiently and effectively may be challenge, Kasie Luke, principal of Meshik School and Chignik Bay School, said that it is one of the new calendar's most positive aspects.
For the 12 schools in the Lake and Peninsula School District, classes started Sept. 5 this year. School lets out May 1.