Holiday break: too short or just right?

story by Sydney Shain

It’s coming close to the time of year when most people are either working on their holiday break plans or already have them in place. At first glance, winter break looks a little bit short this year compared to the past. This year, we are released from school on the 23rd of December, giving us 14 days of break including weekends. Last year, we were out of school on the 18th, and were back on the 5th, which allowed for 19 days of break with weekends. This seems to be a huge difference, and has some students scrambling to make changes in their holiday plans.

For example, Eian Han, Jr., has a birthday this year which will now fall on a school day and hasn’t in the past. Han is used to being on break for his birthday. Especially now that he has to take finals on his big day, the break seems extra short.

“Sadly, I do [have to take finals that day]. I have to struggle through,” said Han.

There are many considerations that go into the creation of our yearly calendar. Mr. Magette, a member of the committee that contributes to the construction of the school calendar, said that balancing the different factors is a challenge.

“One thing that has an affect on how the breaks play out is how important it is to even out the semesters,” said Magette. “When the semesters are uneven, it’s difficult for teachers to plan out their year. Sports schedules, required numbers of school days, and other requirements also affect the decisions about breaks.”

One thing that students notice when trying to explain the schedule change is that Christmas falls on a Sunday. Not everyone celebrates Christmas, but many do, so one explanation is that the schedule is so different because of the holiday falling on that day. However, back in 2011, Christmas also fell on a Sunday and students were out on the 19th of December. That year, though, there were five more days in the second semester than in the first, which might not seem like a lot – but is difficult for teachers to plan for.

As a result, this break might seem extra short, but having an extra-long holiday break last year hasn’t really been something realistic to compare this year’s calendar to.

“If you look at the averages over the years, the average number of days off has been 17,” said Magette. “Since we had so many days off last year, this year and last year evens out to about 16 and a half. Which is really close to the average.”