The new FCPSon program, along with the increased usage of Google Classroom, has begun to revolutionize how some classes function. For example, it is possible for students to complete and turn in work online that was not completed in class. While this new system is convenient for students and teachers alike, it also gives way to the possibility that teachers could have students complete the work for snow days.

Some students, however, are concerned about this potential approach because they think it is unfair that they are expected to effectively make up a full day online.

“I think it could be hard for teachers to assign work on snow days because some students might not have internet at their house,” Sophomore Derek Smith said.

How unfair would it be if a student got a zero or a late grade on an assignment because they couldn’t connect to the internet on a snow day? In all honesty, most, if not all, teachers at the school are reasonable enough to not give out late grades, or even zeros, in such a situation. However, being forced to miss an assignment in this way would likely place the student a class behind on their work for reasons they can’t control.

Being behind on work in a class can have serious mental consequences on a student. It increases stress and it can be a hard hole to dig oneself out of, depending on the intensity of the class.

The risk of being behind in a class isn’t the only potential issue with teachers assigning work on a snow day. Students often use snow days to catch up on sleep and take a mental break from schoolwork.

“If [teachers start to assign work on snow days] I’d be sad because [I use my snow days] to relax and take a break from schoolwork,” junior Eli Rothleder said.

Snow days can be beneficial to the mental health of a student. They allow the student to catch up on sleep and take a momentary break from the everyday grind of the school year. In fact, for many students, a snow day is the only time besides extended breaks that it is possible to get a good long sleep because of extracurricular activities or religious beliefs that may force students to be up early on weekends.

They also allow students to do things that they might not have time to do often with school and other activities in session, such as taking a run on the treadmill or spending time with family.

However, at least for this year, the point may be moot. As avid weather fanatics may already be aware of, The Capital Weather Gang has reported the presence of a D.C. “snow hole.” The snow hole, which also recently struck during the non-snowy winters of 2010-2011 and 2012-2013, is a term to say that snowstorms are tracking North and South of the D.C. area.

The hole, which spans from Charlottesville, Virginia to Baltimore, Maryland, has caused us, and could continue to cause us to have significantly less snowfall than surrounding areas, such as Lynchburg, Virginia, and Richmond, Virginia. According to the Capital Weather Gang, Washington D.C. has seen just 0.4 inches of snowfall as of Jan. 19th, while Lynchburg and Richmond have seen 5.9 and 7.1 inches respectively.

Despite the capabilities of new technologies and the significant increase of usage of Google Classroom, snow days should remain exactly what they are: days off from school.