Remember waking up and getting ready for school as a child, only to find school had been canceled for the day because of snow? Whether you immediately went outside to go sledding or thought about how the school cancellation would mess up your schedule, snow days are common in this region. Over the last month, the students and faculty in the Cameron R-1 School District have dealt with, and are still dealing with, many snow days. Snow, ice, and freezing temperatures have cancelled school for multiple days in December, and have recently cancelled school in early January right after winter break.

 

No school? No problem. The students at Cameron High School couldn't be more thrilled to have so many snow days. "I think snow days are awesome because they're like an extra break, and I think we all kind of need an extra break sometimes," says Sophomore Nate Rose-Heim. "They give me more time to do my homework, which makes my schedule a lot easier." 

 

Freshman Taylor Harcourt agrees with Nate saying, "I like snow days because I can get my school work done faster. I can also sleep in."

 

Snow days are beneficial for various reasons, but there is one major downside for students who aren't seniors. "Snow days are fun, but I don't like making them up," says Sophomore Amanda Estep.

 

From now on, the days of school missed will be tacked on to the end of the school year. Without snow days, the last day of school would have been May 21. With the way the weather has been, there could be an extra week of school because of the make-up snow days.

 

Seniors likely won't have to worry about making up snow days at the end of the school year because their graduation will be before all of the scheduled snow days, though the school reserves the right to move graduation if it has to. "I love [snow days] because I'm a senior and I'm not going to have to make them up at the end of the year," says Senior Tiffany Hamilton.

 

Unlike the seniors, the teachers will not only have to be at school at the end of the year, but they also have to worry about how the snow days throw off their teaching schedule. "Snow days cause complete chaos, disrupts flow, throws classes of track, and mess up everything. It's the weather, and there's not much we can do but adjust for it. Sometimes it's impossible to totally recover and I do the best I can," says Social Studies Teacher Mr.Mayne.

 

Snow days throw off a lot of the curriculum because classes are on different days. "One class gets ahead and the other behind, so it is hard to have continuity and/or fairness to the classes in terms of time and attention to understand the information," explains Social Studies Teacher Mrs.Harrold.

 

She says the key to recovery is flexibility. "One class has to sometimes hurry through information, and are more responsible for learning it on their own or non-essential work that supports the information, but is not vital for teaching is bypassed. This hurts kids by not getting the extra support and sometimes the points."

 

Even though snow days do affect their curriculum, the teachers all agree taking the day off is necessary to keep everyone safe. Language Arts Teacher Mr.Calvert says, "I would rather not have snow days, though I do understand the district's focus on student safety."

 

Mr.Mayne also rather wouldn't have snow days, but knows they are for the best. "I loathe missing school for snow days, but I fully support the school's policy of looking after student safety first and foremost."

 

Love snow days or not, residents in Cameron are used to them. For those of you who love them, go enjoy the snow while you can. For those of you that don't, only a couple of more months until spring rolls around the corner...hopefully.