This January, Benet Academy students faced a plethora of unexpected days off. This comes as a record number of Americans across 48 states face winter weather advisories. 

Two days after winter break ended, snow fell across the state of Illinois in unexpected amounts. The final total for the day was nearly half a foot, over double what many meteorologists had expected. In addition, a large number of Benet students were dealing with snow for the first time, having gotten their driver’s licenses over the past year. Considering all of these factors, the administration issued a late start day, to allow all of those dealing with the inclement weather ample time to travel to school.

Three days later, a similar situation was forecasted; in some areas, it was expected that nearly 13 inches of snow would fall. In light of the inclement weather, the Benet administration took the helpful step of making the school day asynchronous. This served to help the student body by ensuring their safety and warmth, but this abundance of caution was ultimately for naught; only about 3 inches of snow fell on that Friday, a far cry from the total forecasted.

Unexpectedly, Benet students were able to effectively have a five-day weekend over Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As temperatures plunged to a wind chill of -30 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, Benet was lenient once again; in light of the less-than-ideal conditions, they canceled in-person school due to the cold weather outside.

Most surprisingly, Benet was canceled for the first time in a decade because of an unexpected reason: ice. As freezing rain plagued the whole Midwest towards the end of January, the Benet Academy maintenance team worked hour after hour to effectively salt the parking lots, sidewalks, and pathways surrounding the school. However, it was impossible to keep up with the solidifying layer of ice, which undoubtedly would have caused many to slip and fall. In light of the hazard, the school moved first to make the school day a late start day before ultimately canceling in-person school altogether.

The recent spate of snow days, both late-start and canceled, marked one of the largest collections of unplanned closures that the school has seen. But most were relieved and excited by the respite in an otherwise busy semester; senior David Haroldsen said, “I think that it was a great way to start our final semester”. As winter likely winds down to an early finish, we can all relish in what has been one of the most unexpected starts to a school year in living memory.