School morale boosted following snow day

By Rhiannon Lotze

School closings following a blizzard in Windsor and Essex County may have boosted morale for staff and students.

A record-breaking snowfall swept across Windsor and Essex County Feb. 1 and Feb. 2. Windsor International Airport recorded a total of 37 centimetres of snow. It was the third heaviest snowstorm on record, according to Detroit Metro Airport.

St Clair College was the first school in the area to announce that all classes would be cancelled for Feb. 2. The University of Windsor and all public schools, including those with the Greater Essex County District School Board and the Windsor-Essex Catholic District School Board, were also closed for the day.

Many staff and students said they feel the closures increased morale in the schools.

“Even one day off has a massive effect on a student’s mind,” said Cameron Beggs, a Grade 12 student at Sandwich Secondary School. Beggs spent his day off tobogganing and drinking hot chocolate with friends. He said he believes the day off was a “huge boost.”

Many students at the University of Windsor also said they feel the day off was a welcome break.

“A day off allows me to de-stress if I need to,” Himani Dhar, a student in the behaviour, cognition and neuroscience program at the University, said. However, she also said there are potential downsides to snow days.

“School closings do bring out my laziness quite a bit,” said Dhar.

The closings were welcomed not just by students but by teachers as well.

“Everyone enjoys an unexpected change in routine,” Janice Pennington said. Pennington is an English teacher at Sandwich Secondary School and said snow days “offer teachers the opportunity to catch up on marking or lesson planning.”

Other school staff, such as the librarians, also felt an improvement.

“Staff morale goes way up when there’s a snow day,” said Martha Martin, a librarian at LaSalle Public School. “We are like kids. Who doesn’t love a break?”

Monday marked the second time in as many years that poor weather forced the closure of schools in the area, an event that had been fairly uncommon in recent decades.