In a survey, students were asked, “Did you get snow at your house on Monday, February 13?”
The responses showed more people did not get snow, by 14.1%. Even though a portion of the district did not receive snowfall, the Central Office called a snow day, so students were asked how they chose to spend their snow day.
Five students went skiing and two went snowboarding. Others chose to do a mix of things. Many of these activities were focused on practical activities rather than fun pastimes.
“I just used my snowday to get rest after no breaks from school,” said senior Piper Saunders.
Several students indicated that they needed to spend the time to clean up their rooms or take care of some chores that had accumulated due to a busy school schedule.
“I slept, cleaned, and did laundry,” said freshman Avery Shanely.
During the snow day, freshman Eli Bishop had some time away from academics.
“I didn’t really use it for much as I had a dentist appointment that day and a baseball workout,” said Bishop, “but it did give me some relaxing time and time away from school work which was nice.”
Responses like these were common from the student body. The majority of the students either used the snow day to recharge and reset, or be productive and catch up. When asked how they felt about snow days in general, not all students appreciate them.
“I think snow days are nice to have every now and then, as it gives us a break from the work and stress of class,” said senior Anna Dishman. “The only reason I'm not the biggest fan of them is because they can stretch out the school year further into the summer. I'd rather use as many virtual days as possible than have a ton of snow days that take away from summer break.”
While many students look forward to a pure day off from school, not everyone sees them as an exciting break. The social aspect of school is a pull for some students.
“I don't like snow days because I don't like snow and I don't get to see my friends,” said freshman Nathaniel Grey.
Finally, students were asked how they felt about remote learning. On remote learning days students log into Google Meets on a modified schedule so that they can continue with classroom instruction while at home.
“I think remote days are good in the sense that they prevent us from staying in school until mid-June but they cause students a lot of unnecessary anxiety,” said Saunders. “Many teachers call on students randomly while on Google meets and even students who are paying attention are likely to get nervous and not know how to respond. It is incredibly different than in person learning.”
A lack of focus seems to be one of the biggest problems students had with remote learning.
“I'm not a huge fan of remote days. Every time I finish my classes on remote days, I feel like I wasted my time,” said freshman Liliana Lemus. “It's difficult to stay focused in remote classes, and it's hard to sit in the same place for every class. I need changes in scenery for me to concentrate. I do like how they don't push summer back in our schedule. I'd like to have a combination of both snow days and remote days.”
Overall, the student body has mixed opinions about snow days. Some students like snow days because they bring a change in the school schedule, while others find snow days inconvenient.
Comments