8:00- wake up and eat breakfast. 8:45- study for biology test. 10:30- study for calculus quiz. 11:30- do Spanish homework. 12:30- eat lunch and take a break. Is this the schedule for an exam study? Nope. It was my snow day schedule. The second snow day in a row left me with delayed tests and quizzes and an array of extra homework via the new Montrose website.
Access to assignments on the Montrose website “definitely helped me keep up during the snow days,” said English teacher Ms. Nielson. “I can communicate with students and not fall behind,” she added. Nielson is not alone in her praise for the website’s assignment center. Mrs. Sneider agreed, “I think its a big help to be able to keep your learning moving forward. It’s been an exceptional year weather-wise so it has been great to have this as a resource to keep some learning on track.”
Still, for some students, the snow day work was an unpleasant, though predicted, realization. One senior reflected, “We knew it was coming, but teachers gave us more work than we expected.” Work piled up as teachers added more to the stack to keep up with the curriculum. Indeed, I felt as though my snow day was filled with mountains of homework, not mountains of snow. I didn’t go outside to build a snow fort or sled as I normally would have done on such a momentous day. Instead I watched the snow swirl from my desk as more assignments piled up like the snow drifts.
Of course, there is something to be said for the amount of school we did miss. Laura Bergemann ‘15 explained, “From January to the beginning of March, every week for me has been a three day week. How do you expect to recover from that loss of school without the website?”Because Montrose is an independent school and does not make up snow days at the end of the year, teachers scramble to pack more learning into fewer days with the website a communication support to help classes maintain momentum.
I predict that while students find the new pattern of “keeping pace” during snow days, they will be relieved that the work done has been done in February rather than packed into the final weeks of March at interim grades. I know, at least, that will be my sentiment, when the spring arrives.
However, as the snow falls in February, I can’t help but feel a bit sentimental for the snow days “of old.” I would run to the TV to see that school was cancelled and leave the school books in my bag for the day. I would not spill syrup on my math notes during the celebratory pancake breakfasts; and, of course, I would not have to huddle inside my snow fort with a school textbook. It seems that this is now wishful thinking; with a new website, snow days are as outdated as the old fashioned ice bow.