Snow Days May Look Different This Year

by Kristal Lin

In past years, Niskayuna students used to cross their fingers for snow causing a cancellation of school but will blizzards cause a break in our education this year? Snow days have always been exciting for me. The unexpected days off from school excite me more than the week-long breaks. I’m not sure what it is about them that attracts my excitement, but maybe it’s just the spontaneous factor of it. Or maybe it’s the great feeling of relief from finally getting a day off.

Just recently, on December 18th and 19th, we experienced the luxury of having two snow days in a row! In the beginning of the school year, the district had announced that snow days were going to be all remote days where education would continue for grades K-12. However, we were somehow granted two snow days immediately when we had a huge three foot snowstorm. And upon hearing of two days off from school, a spark of hope went off in me thinking that maybe we will have actual snow days this year. Unfortunately, this aspiration is too far fetched due to the struggle of having to add additional instructional days to our calendars. It’s possible that we will not be getting another day off due to snow throughout the 2020-2021 school year. An email was sent to all members of the Niskayuna Central School District saying that once everyone in the district has a Chromebook, “having remote instruction on days when the weather makes in-person learning not possible will be an option.”

One of the main questions remains: would you rather have additional school days at the end of the year or less snow days? Personally, it’s not a big deal to me if we have additional school days at the beginning of summer. Others wonder if it is even fair to allow the district to continue school on a particularly snowy day. Personally, I believe a snow day should not be affected by the pandemic. They give the students a break and time to catch up if they are behind in their classes. I’m sure that teachers also enjoy not having to stare at a screen for long periods of time. Snow days are the best because they slow everyone down! The roads are slippery and people are too busy trying to clear their driveways to mind anything else. Often a snow day means that the family works together to shovel the snow off of driveways and porches. These tasks could keep many from attending a virtual class. I love to see children running out of their houses squealing in delight and throwing themselves in the clouds of snow. Families tend to walk around in pajamas enjoying hot beverages. These fun snow day activities are some of the few still safe to do in this pandemic. Why would school take that away?

Everything is so restrained and controlled this year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, but snow days are naturally controlled by the mounds of snow. Not only are they days off from learning, they provide great opportunities to go outside and play.