The first semester is coming to a close, and the holidays are upon us. Winter break is only a few weeks away, yet Washington Township’s scheduled break dates are later than many schools in the area this year.

With Christmas falling on a Saturday, there is no singular perfect date to end the fall semester. Different school districts in the Indianapolis area have varying last school days, many of which are earlier than the Washington Township date. For Washington Township students, the last day of the semester will be December 22.

I believe getting out of school this late has benefits and downfalls. 

Starting with the downside, the later start to winter break potentially puts an extra strain on those who may be planning to go out of town.  The holiday season is a very popular travel time, as many people celebrate with family outside of Indianapolis. Not everybody in Washington Township celebrates Christmas, but of those who do, they only have a couple of days to travel before Christmas day.

Traveling is often no simple task, especially with COVID-19 safety precautions still in place. In addition, for many schools, the last student day before winter break is Friday, December 17, allowing five more days on the front end of the holiday than Washington Township.

Conversely, the later start to break does have some upside.  The last few days of the semester are incredibly stressful for high school students due to final exams. So while it may feel like the first semester is dragging out longer than necessary by going late into December, this also allows students an extra weekend of studying.

This will be my first actual finals week because last year was so unusual, which is very nerve-racking. While I wish we were getting out of school a few days earlier, I am grateful for the extra few days of studying and in-class review before taking my finals.

Although it will feel like we are losing break time on the front end, Washington Township students and staff do not have to go back to school until January 10. Many of the schools that will begin winter break before us will return to school on January 3.

I would instead start our winter break a week earlier than we do.  However, I am happy about going back to school later than usual in January. January and February are easily my least favorite months of the year, but having that extra week off at the beginning of January should help them go by faster.

I do not know how school calendars are thoroughly planned out. However, I am sure there is a lot of thought and planning involved. Therefore, even though I wish the break started earlier than it does, I assume there is a valid reason for this school year’s scheduled break. Regardless, I believe I am speaking on behalf of many when I say winter break cannot come fast enough!