Snow Days?

[David CO]

Today is Snow Day #8 for my school. We had only scheduled 5 on our calendar. Some nearby public schools have taken as many as 20 Snow Days already. They are talking about extending the school year into the scheduled summer vacation time. Some schools are even considering having school on Saturdays. 😦. This could cause havoc for those who have already planned and scheduled their summer camps.

Is anyone here on the forum having that problem?

 

 

[qwazse]

Not presently, but we have in the past. Since we attend week 1 of summer camp (which is usually synced to the week after Pittsburgh Public Schools' last day) it has impacted us. Fortunately, in those years, our school district didn't take as many snow days as PPS, so it only cause problems for a minority of scouts. I can't remember how they resolved this issue. I do remember them camping with us, so either they came mid-week or were granted an early dismissal. (Being a good student comes with some perks.)

For us, the serious issue is that it cuts into long weekends for backpacking, or spring break for high adventure. We just can't do last-minute camp outs on snow-days (although I'd certainly rather).

Edited February 20, 2019 by qwazse

[David CO]

7 minutes ago, qwazse said:

(which is usually synced to the week after Pittsburgh Public Schools' last day)

Does Pittsburgh actually have Snow Days? I always assumed that all the black soot from the steel plant chimneys would melt off all the snow and ice right away. 

Edited February 20, 2019 by David CO

[qwazse]

31 minutes ago, David CO said:

Does Pittsburgh actually have Snow Days? I always assumed that all the black soot from the steel plant chimneys would melt off all the snow and ice right away. 

That black soot went away with most of our steel jobs.

The debate is out as to if those stacks "seeded" more than "heated" the clouds.

[MattR]

My mother-in-law is in Dubuque, IA. They are adding a half hour a day to make up the lost time. Sounds like a gimmick to me but it won't mess up calendars too bad (except for all the sports and other after school activities). They should have just assigned homework to be done during the snow storm. Kind of like working from home. I guess you could call it homework.

[oldbuzzard]

Here in MN, we are also around 8 days, mostly for cold. Lots of districts are asking the Governor to waive instruction hour mandates for make up days beyond those built in to the calendar.

[David CO]

17 minutes ago, MattR said:

My mother-in-law is in Dubuque, IA. They are adding a half hour a day to make up the lost time. Sounds like a gimmick to me but it won't mess up calendars too bad (except for all the sports and other after school activities). They should have just assigned homework to be done during the snow storm. Kind of like working from home. I guess you could call it homework.

I suppose so. That might make the numbers work.

I wouldn't want to just add busywork to the kids work load. I carefully plan my units and lessons to give the kids a valuable learning experience. I try to not waste their time.

Edited February 20, 2019 by David CO

[David CO]

18 minutes ago, oldbuzzard said:

Here in MN, we are also around 8 days, mostly for cold. Lots of districts are asking the Governor to waive instruction hour mandates for make up days beyond those built in to the calendar.

If we get a waiver, I'll have to cut one of my units this semester. It would probably be First Aid. 

Edited February 20, 2019 by David CO

[MikeS72]

42 minutes ago, MattR said:

My mother-in-law is in Dubuque, IA. They are adding a half hour a day to make up the lost time. Sounds like a gimmick to me but it won't mess up calendars too bad (except for all the sports and other after school activities). They should have just assigned homework to be done during the snow storm. Kind of like working from home. I guess you could call it homework.

Not sure how it goes in Iowa, but here in FL it is not just the number of days we are in session, but the number of hours of instructional time.  Thankfully, we did not miss any days this year (in my district at least) due to hurricanes.  We have had several times in the past few years that we have missed a week at a time.

[jjlash]

Also in Iowa - today was #12.  School board is being very creative about how to make up the hours.  So far our district is still out on May 31.  But we have NYLT staff who will (already) be in school until day 3 of the course.  Working on plans for how we're going to adjust.

[David CO]

14 minutes ago, MikeS72 said:

Not sure how it goes in Iowa, but here in FL it is not just the number of days we are in session, but the number of hours of instructional time.  

Same here. Some school districts don't always cancel the full day. Instead, they might delay school by 2 hours. This way, it counts as a school day, but you still have to make up the 2 hours. 

 

[Cubmaster Pete]

5 days here in Wisconsin for us, and the school year has to be lengthened because we went over the built in make up days.

Not for my kids though, we planned a trip, and they won't make them up. Darn!

[David CO]

25 minutes ago, Cubmaster Pete said:

5 days here in Wisconsin for us, and the school year has to be lengthened because we went over the built in make up days.

Not for my kids though, we planned a trip, and they won't make them up. Darn!

The children must be so disappointed.

[David CO]

Some end-of-the-year activities and trips can't be rescheduled. The kids may have to do them as scheduled and then return for another week of school. That will feel strange.

[Cubmaster Pete]

1 hour ago, David CO said:

The children must be so disappointed.

The oldest is, his last year in elementary school.

Once he's climbing rocks in the Badlands, he'll get over it....