According to Principal Tim Phares, recent fluctuations in winter weather following a warm spell have prompted concerns regarding the impact of school delays and e-learning days on the building’s operations. Phares said that while weather always prompts concerns in the wintertime, the district receives feedback from community members on both sides of the issue.

“What I have heard from teachers is it just kind of creates a little havoc,” Phares said. “I mean, I’ve had to reschedule a lot of different things. It creates havoc for teachers of having to reschedule because, again, what they assign you on campus is not exactly what the instruction would have been in person.”

Phares said that while the district adapts to these disruptions, maintaining consistency remains a priority for student success. He stated that consecutive snow days are a rare occurrence, with the last major instances potentially dating back to 2017 or 2018.

“We want to stick to routines,” he said. “Routines are best for kids. We know that. I think kids know that. And so with that, it just takes some time to kind of recover to get those things rescheduled.”

Despite the recent weather disruptions, Phares said the administration is heavily focused on the 5,000-piece puzzle of planning for the upcoming school year. He stated the March 1st deadline for course selections is critical for determining staffing needs, especially with new diploma requirements.

“Honestly, that is essential. When I say the priority, it is the priority of the month of March,” Phares said. “We meet with each of those departments each day and schedule them. And then usually there’s meetings after the meetings because they’ve got to go back and kind of look at things and try to figure out where people are going to slot in.”

According to Senior Rafan Tajwer, March can be a difficult month, but snow days have helped.

“March is generally one of my least favorite months because of how long it was comparatively,” Tajwer said. “But I’m glad we had the snow days to break it up a bit, as long as it doesn’t get too excessive.”

As the district enters the long stretch of March before spring break, Phares said the school will emphasize mental health, including a Mental Health Wellness Week and a “wear green” day on March 17th. He encouraged students and staff to find personal escapes from the “daily grind” to maintain their well-being.

“We know that brighter, warmer days are ahead and looking ahead to that and knowing the joy in those days. We just had those three beautiful days earlier last week and it was so interesting just to see the different pep in people’s step,” Phares said. By Megan Xia.