Freshman Amy discusses the negative impacts of the five snow days in February.

On a cold, stressful night in the beginning of February, a deluge of messages bombarded Upper School Student Notices. Some reminded us to put spoons under our beds and wear our pajamas inside-out while others shared school-closing weather links for us to constantly check.

The “snowpocalypse” instigated a city-wide frenzy among all schools in the DFW area, and Hockaday was no exception. Our wishes were granted not once, not twice, not even three times, but a whopping, record-breaking five times.

But sometime after the second or third snow day, I realized that these so-called blessings were nuisances, not worth the extra trouble and time required as retribution for missing so much school.

I think that the only reason the snow days were worth this extra effort is because they were unprecedented in Hockaday, and maybe even Texas, history.

First, the snowpocalypse kept me on my toes. Though we did get five days off, I did not find out until each morning. Thus, I still had to wake up at 6:30 a.m., stare groggily at the TV screen and wait for “Hockaday” to appear on the “no-school” list. I later had to force myself to start the homework that I put off, unable to return to sleep.

After a couple of snow days, most of us probably finished those lengthy reading passages or textbook problems, but teachers posted more assignments via FirstClass. Papers were still due, thanks to the handy Drop Box folders, and some students continued to participate in discussions through “remote learning.”

Remote learning challenged teachers to discover, use and present their students different material in an attempt to simulate classroom lessons. These tactics had me at my desk, completing schoolwork like I would be doing on a normal school day.

Also, as the icy roads continued to delay school, I had to adjust my workload each day to fit my constantly changing plans and limited resources. Once the snowpocalypse ended and I returned to school, tests and quizzes were frequently rescheduled as a result of the confusing conflicts.

Last but not least, late start days, early dismissals, and Easter Break Monday were cancelled.

As freshman Paige says, “[The snow days] were fun while they lasted, but it wasn’t worth losing the rest of our late starts and early dismissals.”

The prospect of Easter Break was just not as exciting knowing that I only had one day off, instead of the two I was accustomed to. For those of us who already planned vacations that extended throughout the long weekend, this scheduling change was especially inconvenient and disappointing. What should have been a relaxing day without any assigned homework, tests or papers turned into an extra even day, creating confusion as to which day was which for the rest of the week.

The snowpocalypse had its benefits, including a well-deserved break from our busy schedules and not to mention actual snow, even if it was too dry to actually make a snowman or have a snowball fight. However, as the school year approaches its end, we realize that the immediate privileges soon faded, and numerous drawbacks surfaced as a result of the missed class time. Almost four months after the snow days and I realize that they were not worth the trouble after all.

So, while the snow days were a surprising and welcomed change to our monotonous agendas, please, Texas weather, not so many next year.

-Amy