Catching up on sleep is what winter break is all about. Fluvanna’s winter break lasts from Dec. 20 to Jan. 6 with a half day on Dec. 19., providing nearly three weeks of time to travel, spend time with family, celebrating, or get in some extra work hours. Yet that time can pass quickly.
“I don’t think winter break is long enough. Considering the amount of time we are in school, I think we need at least a month,” said senior Jayne Thomas.
Winter break is a relief from all the exams and non-stop work from the whole semester. Exams are the most stressful part of classes and cause intense anxiety for many students, especially since the exam exemption policy is something teachers can choose to follow or not. After a tough few weeks of non-stop studying and last-minute assignments, some may feel that the break time is just not enough to recover from the stress.
“Some people travel for the holidays and hardly get any time at home. Plus, everyone is always burnt out by the end of the first semester, and I don’t think two weeks is long enough to recover from the influx of exams and work many students experience near the holidays,” said junior Vanessa Vandevander.
While exams are stressful, winter break is the best time to recover. According to Co-Founder and Chief Data Scientist Imed Bouchrika, finals and midterms account for the top source of stress for 31% of U.S. students. Most students agree that winter break is necessary for their mental health and to lower their stress levels.
The amount of break time can vary depending on the schools and districts. Fluvanna’s 18-day winter break is on the longer side considering the average winter break for high school students is 14 days according to Andrew Warner in his article The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School Calendars. It’s a length that some students really appreciate. “I think Fluvanna’s winter break is a good length because it gives me time to rest, catch up on work, and prepare for the new semester, but it is not too long where I get bored,” said senior Katherine Bond.
Sophomore Cassie Davis agrees. “I feel like our winter break is long enough because at my old school (Henley Middle School) it used to be way shorter,” she said.
While students may be satisfied with the length of the break, I’m not. I believe that the break is too short to really enjoy yourself and decompress from school. I work throughout the whole break and my teachers still assign work to do over it. Fluvanna’s winter break should be longer to let every student recover from a long semester.
