by Zach Marji
Jamesville-DeWitt High School students have strong views on their share of snow days. Some J-DHS students have felt deprived from the past years and expected a total of zero for the current 2015-2016 school year. But by mid-January, J-DHS students received two snow days within two weeks.
J-DHS students secured multiple snow days in 2014-2015, but students such as senior Dean Kousmanidis have doubt they will recieve anymore. However, when given the gift of a snow day, he takes full advantage. “I like snow days because they give me a chance to recollect myself and focus on my studies and what I need to accomplish,” said Kousmanidis.
Students have many different methods of how to spend their snow day, although the majority say they use the day to relax and catch up on things. Like Kousmanidis, seniors Luke Rowe and Elias Gantos also use snow days as a way to organize themselves. “I like sowdays because I can decompress from the stress that school gives me,” said Rowe. Gantos said that he likes to use snow days to do some leisurely reading and possibly bake brownies with his mom.
J-D students, Alex Tso and Ryan Mandelis say that snow days are perfect for enjoying winter activities like those sophomore Garret Vanvranken lists: “sleep, watch movies or (go) snowboarding.”
Many students also use the snow day calulator, a website that evaluates the weather in your area and makes a percentage prediction on whether or not your school will call a snow day.
On the Jan. 12, the snow day calculator said that there was a 99 percent chance there would be a snow day on Jan. 13. , according to the snow day calculator, students were enthused. The students, like junior Ben Picone, knew they had a good possibility, but still held doubt due to J-DHS’s tough snow day reputaion.
The snow day calculator ended up proving it’s worthiness. The students landed two snow days after both being listed as 99 percent chances on the snow day calculator the day before.
The school’s disc jockey, Dylan Fleischmen or better known as DJ Dyl was even able to provide J-D students with two new “snow day mixtapes” on his days off. Fleischmen said the snow day allowed him time to prepare for the Semi-formal dance.
According to an article by WPRI news team, snow days have been proven to help students. A study in 2012 released by Harvard Kennedy School of Government stated that closing the entire school is important to do when governors and mayors call for people to stay off roads. If there is a doubt that students will be able to arrive safe and on time, a delay or cancellation is needed. Closing the whole school
allows all students to stay on the same track. Also, the majority of schools make up the snow days at the end of the year, so the schedule is maintained.
There are some tricks to help reach the ultimate goal of a snow day. Sleeping with your pajamas inside out, brushing your teeth with the opposite hand or sleeping with a spoon under your pillow are some of the superstitious ways to help make a snow day happen. J-D students seem to believe less in the fate of these and more in the past practices of their superintendent, Dr. Alice Kendrick.
