the anatomy of a snow day
You don’t have to look much beyond those gigantic piles of dirty snow around the Collegiate campus to know that this has been a really tough winter.
It’s hardly fresh news that Central Virginia has been socked by three serious snowstorms plus that little eye-opener just as the sun came up Wednesday, but considering the plight of the states to our north, we’ve escaped with a minimum of hassle.
Our first “weather event” occurred just after we left for Christmas vacation, so no snow days were involved.
The subsequent ones, however, caused us to lose three days and necessitated three late-arrivals, a concept to which this night-person could grow accustomed very quickly.
As the weather became the media’s lead story each day, I began to wonder how our administrators decide to bring us in or keep us home?
Do they wait to see what the public systems do?
Do they stare down their independent school counterparts to see who will blink first?
Just as I expected, the answers are no and no, but the decision is always well-considered and collaborative.
Often, timing makes it easy.
Sometimes, like last Friday, they find themselves in the predicting business, and it’s always nice when the pre-emptive call is right on the money.
On occasion, though, and Wednesday was a prime example, the arrival of treacherous weather couldn’t come at a less opportune moment.
Keith Evans, our head of school, has the final word on snow days, sometimes after heading to campus in the wee hours of the morning to scope things out for himself, so I went straight to the source.
“The campus has to be safe,” he explained.
“It has to be passable for cars and foot traffic, and the two main roads, River and North Mooreland, have to be clear and safe.
“If those things aren’t in place, we’re out of luck.
“Snowfall varies from one neighborhood to the next. Kids come from the city and several counties. We let parents make a judgment about whether they can get their children here safely.”
Crews from Henrico County, of course, clear the public thoroughfares.
The good folks from our physical plant department (with an assist from the heavy equipment of Earthworks & Sprinklers Unlimited, Inc.) are responsible for our walkways, parking lots, steps, and drives.
Each time, they’ve brought their A-game.
“When it snows, we mobilize every able-bodied person,” said Robert Moore, assistant director of facilities.
“We start on one side of campus and work our way to the other. We remove the snow first, then put down Ice Melt.
“We’d rather not see the snow fall because clearing it is hard work, but school has to open.
“That’s what we’re here for: to ensure that school opens safely.”
Moore reports that the weekend snows of 2010 required 105 man-hours of labor each and Wednesday’s surprise required 126 more.
All told, our staff has spread upwards of 9,000 pounds – yes, you read that correctly – of Ice Melt pellets and has 4,000 more on standby.
Snow can wreak havoc on teaching schedules, but students and faculty have remained flexible and philosophical, especially when classes have been missed or shortened, assemblies canceled, and senior speeches postponed.
“Our teachers plan ahead, so snow days throw a wrench into the works,” said US head Patrick Loach.
“They worry less about missing class time than about losing the rhythm of the academic experience, but everyone grins and bears it.”
Athletic schedules also take a beating when weather becomes a factor.
The twice-postponed Prep League wrestling tournament has now been canceled.
The Prep League and League of Independent Schools swimming and diving competition will be held today and tomorrow, a week late, at St. Catherine’s. Hopefully, the weather will cooperate this time.
The winter track team missed out on the second day of the highly competitive St. Christopher’s Invitational, and much-anticipated, always-challenging varsity basketball games with Mills Godwin’s boys and Potomac Schools’ girls plus a slew of JV and cub contests must wait until next year.
“Goes with the territory,” said co-athletics director Karen Doxey, “but this can happen in any season.
“Remember 9-11, the sniper, and Hurricane Isabel. When you put it in that context, a little snow is nothing more than an inconvenience.
“Kids are resilient. They’ll pull through. Regardless of the circumstances, they’ll always give their best.”
