A glittering blanket of new snow outside the window is a rare but often welcome sight for students and teachers. When that snow is followed by a school cancellation, promising a day full of snow-related activities and being comfy inside ahead, the excitement increases.
Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) determines whether to cancel school or not based on multiple factors. One of those is the number of students that are bussed to school, 130,000 students, which ranks second nationally. Closures happen by district because students come from all over the area to attend each school, and if buses would have trouble making it, school needs to be canceled. FCPS states in the site that the county tries to make the decision in the evening, but if they can’t, it will be at least by the first morning forecast, which usually comes out to around 4:30 in the morning eastern standard time.
“I really like how early they alert us when school gets cancelled or delayed,” senior Bailey Carroll said, “It makes it way easier to plan ahead.”
Between activities that actually involve snow and those best enjoyed inside, there are many things students and teachers can do to make the most of their free time away from school.
“My family friends and I usually go to the hill and sled,” Carroll said. “If not, we still hang out; we like going to this one soccer field and making snowmen too.”
School and work can take up a lot of time. To some, snow days present an opportunity to engage in whatever hobbies and pleasure activities they might enjoy.
“I like to sleep in on snow days, probably play video games too,”sophomore Jonny Tsai said. “I also like to go outside and play sports if my friends are as well. Though when we’re not, we usually just play video games.”
Science teacher Joshua Cooper, on the other hand, takes a more sedentary approach to the snow day, opting to stay inside and enjoy the rest and relaxation when he is off from school. He finds that he doesn’t have to be out in the midst of the snow to enjoy it.
“I’ll usually sleep around the same amount,” Cooper said. “Then I’ll get up, make some coffee, do a short workout and get any chores I have done and then I’ll usually try to enjoy some warmth away from the outside.”
