- by John Fearnall

A couple things to keep in mind as we get close to surpassing our snow day record in Owen Sound and elsewhere and people start to complain more:
Note that my suggestions relate to high school, not elementary school.

a) We've really only had one true snow day where the school was closed. I can't give you the exact numbers for our current school, but I know at the O.S.C.V.I., about 75% of our students did NOT take a bus. That means on days that the school buses are cancelled, we should still have a relatively full school. This is how it was in the "old days" that everyone likes to talk about. Of course, we were a little less worried about insurance companies back then.

b) In the past, I have suggested that instead of pretending, like we do now, that everything is running regularly at school on snow days (teachers are expected to be in their classes, etc.) that we, instead, announce that buses are canceled and that there will be an alternative school day for those who can get there.
Students who can get to school could choose to go play basketball or volleyball in the gym, work out in the weight room, play board games in the library, get extra help in rooms designated for each subject, etc.. We used to do this informally at the O.S.C.V.I. and it was always lots of fun - for both the students and the teachers.

I'm not sure why they wouldn't do this, but I suspect it has to do with contracts, legislation and money, which is sad as days like this could go a long way in making our schools much more welcoming to our students. Our schools would act more like a community centre, which is what they should be, in my humble opinion, anyway.

Enjoy the upcoming blizzard. Hope everyone stays safe and warm. As expected, I'm on my way to school soon. I just hope I'll be able get home:).