Poorly conceived state law puts the kibosh on snow days; students defiantly wear pajamas inside out.
By SCOTT KING ’13
Eye Staff Reporter
From the first Cleveland snowfall to the last, the same faint hope graces the minds of the St. Ignatius student body and faculty. This hope drives many of us perform almost absurd rituals. What is the purpose of going to extremes about the snow? The answer is simple: to get a snow day. Whether you place a spoon underneath your pillow, flip your pajamas inside out and backwards, or throw an ice cube down the toilet the ambitions are the same, to obtain that day off of school. After all, who isn’t thrilled at the prospects of sleeping in late, watching TV with a bowl of cornflakes in hand, or sled-riding, anything but sitting in a classroom. For those of you who wish to know the process behind determining a snow day, here is a glimpse into how a typical snow day develops:
2:55 p.m. As the bell rings, students pour out into halls spreading the rumors that have been intensifying throughout the day of the impending snow day. Some students who are inspired by these rumors take a gamble on Mother Nature by putting off their homework.
6:42 p.m. While enjoying a warm cup of after-dinner cocoa, teachers and students alike scrutinize various news outlets seeking an update of the blizzard’s progress. The almost hourly process of checking for a school closing has begun.
7:43 p.m. Still holding out hope for good news, anxious students check the news again. All walk away disappointed in the likely prospect of having school the next day.
8:38 p.m. Failure in sighting a school closing yet again, students sulk back to the couch and continue playing Black Ops. Teachers return to watching PBS, grading papers, or writing impossibly complicated exam questions.
10:51 p.m. Parents of Wildcat High students take note of school closings and inform their son when he gets home from CYO practice that school is still on. Anthony Cunningham ’13, maintaining hope, performs an unheard of but effective ritual of putting an orange in the freezer.
4:30 a.m. Principal Corrigan ’69 arises to his alarm and promptly turns on the morning news show to check weather conditions. After reviewing road conditions and the forecast for the day on the news and internet, he places phone calls to both Mr. Gavin ’77 and Mr. Hennessey ’78 for conditions in each administrator’s respective areas.
5:30 a.m. After a valiant effort to continue school as planned, Mr. Corrigan reluctantly informs the media of snow day. The announcement is put on the website and emails and texts are sent out to the student body. The teachers begin the old-school ‘phone chain’ to notify each other.
6:00-7:30 a.m. Students and teachers celebrate like children on Christmas morning after a night of waiting in anticipation. An unfortunate group of unsuspecting students arrive on campus to find it empty.
As of late, some obstacles have risen between schools and the beloved snow day. The number of calamity days in Ohio has been reduced from five to three this year, and will drop to zero in 2011-2012. State law now mandates that every day we over the limit we must be made up later in the school year. So now the odds are greater that we will receive a delayed start in place of a snow day. Nevertheless, there is no reason to give up hope yet because Mr. Corrigan ultimately stresses to the parents to keep their children home if they feel the conditions are too dangerous to travel. Regardless, keep on vying for those snow days. You never know what crazy snow day ritual might actually work.
