How MHS Decides Snow Days
By Gideon Kass
Leisure, relaxation, and exciting, snowy fun are what comes to mind whenever I think of a snow day: an opportunity to meet your friends and frolic in the snow. While enjoying the recent heavy snow, I started to wonder how these magical days came to be.
My investigation started with the “high school grapevine.” I quickly found out that our superintendent, Libby Bonesteel, was the one with all the information. I immediately sent a virtual interrogation (i.e., an email) about snow days. The fruits of my labor arrived in the form of Mrs. Bonesteel’s timely responses:
Q: Who decides what days are snow days?
A: Ultimately, I, or whoever is the superintendent, have the final say on calling a snow day.
Q: What are the criteria for a snow day?
A: Depends. Sometimes it's what we all imagine --- too much snow for plows to get ahead of so buses can't drive on the roads. Other times it's ice (making decisions about ice is the worst scenario because it's super hard to make objective decisions). Basically, the call is made based on whether a school bus can safely travel the roads.
Q: Are our snow days influenced by other districts?
A: Sometimes. Because it's so hard to get in touch with the road crew in Roxbury, I depend on what the superintendent in Central Vermont is hearing about the roads over there. It's not a perfect system. He is trying to gather information and I'm bothering him at the same time - all at about 5:00 AM. If Barre, Central VT, and Washington Central all close, chances are we will as well. That's not a guarantee, however. Superintendents have one big group text chat on weather days that starts at about 4:45 AM.
Q: What is your favorite thing to do on snow days?
A: I still have to work! Most snow days I do get to work from home so it's nice to be on my couch with my dog snuggled next to me and a big mug of tea while I'm working. When I was a kid, there was nothing better than going sledding. We had a huge hill near our middle school that we could walk to and used to make huge jumps on. That was pretty great.
Q: What do you recommend students do on snow days?
A: If it's a snow day based on getting dumped on by actual snow, get outside and enjoy it! Dig your family out of the driveway first so they can get to work if they need to and then hit the slopes, build some snow families, have a snowball fight, and then warm up with a fancy hot chocolate. It's an unexpected break, so have fun!
So, now we know. Snow days are a whole lot of bureaucracy that no one wants to deal with, but everyone wants to enjoy them. Once we use all 3 free snow days it becomes a “Catch-22” situation where we can have a break from school, however, we have to sacrifice a day of our sweet summer break. We also have to consider the other commuters who come from Roxbury and other far-away places.
Pushing aside all the ethical nonsense, we all love snow days: except for those of us who have to work. So what do we do on snow days? Some of us laze around inside, grateful for the warmth of our house; I am sometimes included in this category.
My final sentiment I will instill in you is, GO OUT AND ENJOY THE SNOW!