There is no better sound than hearing all the phones in the house ring, and seeing your family look at you with that one face we all know. The face that says the school calling, and you know exactly what they are going to say. Snapchats roll in, text messages blow up, and Galena High School students are thrilled to have the day off. Luckily this year, we have felt the excitement three times in two weeks. A surprise day off every now and then is well deserved for our students who work hard every other day, to not have much to look forward to outside of school. 

GHS students share their thoughts before they get the call, excitement after, and how they have been spending their well deserved days off. “I just hope we have the day off, so I can sleep in and get caught up on some sleep,” said Gwen Hesselblacher ‘23. “I have spent my snow days watching Netflix and hanging low with my family.” With students’ busy lifes, there is often not time to binge shows on Netflix, so snow days seem to be a prime time to catch up.

Another response when asked what goes on in one snow day, follows the same relaxing schedule as those prior. “While I am waiting to get the call from school, I am just praying that they cancel school so I can go back to bed and cuddle back up with my dogs,” said Danielle Stephanopoulos ‘23. “Over my last three snow days, I have spent a lot of my time sleeping, cuddling my dogs, and watching Netflix in my room.” All of the relaxing activities consume our students time on snow days, refreshing them for their return to school.

Some of our students are a little more active on their days off, with a good mix of chill time as well. “I really enjoy snow days. On my days off I bake, go outside, and get into new shows that I normally don’t have time to watch,” said Maddy Glasgow ‘22. “In the morning when people say there might be a snow day, I wake up earlier than normal and ask my parents right away if we have the day off. The school has called the night before for all three this year, so it was even better, and I could sleep in as late as I wanted without having to wake up and wonder if I had to get up or I could go back to sleep.” Galena is known for not having very many snow days, so having three in the span of two weeks has been a pleasant surprise to the Galena School District. 

Turn off the alarms, turn on your heater, and stay warm during these cold winter weeks GHS. Students have been making the most of their snow days and hold their breaths to have more in the future. Getting to sleep in in the middle of the week, catch up on life, and just enjoy yourself is the way to go in the winter.