After using all three of our allotted snow days this school year, today on February 12 BCPS had to hold its first virtual snow day. In the four school years since the pandemic this was the first year BCPS had to actually make use of their virtual snow day plan.
Baltimore annually sees an average of 21.1 inches of snow per winter but the past three winters have fallen short of that with a total of only 26 inches COMBINED for the past three winters. With January’s snow and this week’s recent snow we’re right below 12 inches of snow recorded at BWI at the moment. But the temperatures have been very cold this winter as well, keeping the ground snow covered much of January and establishing a pattern of cold snowy weather so our chances of more snow still before this winter is over is hopeful if you enjoy the snow.
With BCPS having to call a lot of more snow days for students, and so much so that snow days are now virtual days, a lot of students excitement shifted to dread.
Because Baltimore County students and staff have the year long experience of virtual learning, the plan has always been if we used all of our snow days we would do virtual days to avoid pushing the school year too far in to June.
Some students and staff had mixed feelings about returning to virtual even for a day. Kenwood ELA teacher shares, “I was surprised at how many of my students signed in and attended class but also how said they’d prefer to be in person but remembering how to engage in virtual learning wasn’t a hard adjustment because they remember doing it for so long not too long ago.” Signing in to class seemed to be like riding a bike as most students found it easy to get to their classes.
It was a little tougher with classrooms with long term subs but with a little assistance from administration there was a workable solution to get teachers to their students for the day.
“It really does make teaching and learning very convenient in the times it is needed like now during a snowy winter, and it works decent enough when people are engaged,” shares Kenwood junior Peyton R.
Both students and staff seemed to enjoy the pro of getting to sleep in a little later and not have to get out in the cold weather. But some mention how they have to go back to the juggling act of doing their schoolwork online while also watching or helping younger siblings. Some find virtual learning boring and miss seeing their friends.
For some other people, such as parents, virtual snow days can be a lot to handle. A good example of this is a KHS’s student who mother who works in BCPS at an elementary school. She shares, “I have to manage my own our children. I have to supervise them doing online learning while I am also in my class working with my students for online learning, and I have my four-year-old who has to do a paper packet, and all of this has to happen at the same time.” While every family’s situation is different, snow days can be hectic change in their family routine.
While virtual snow days can have its pros and cons, at least it’s short term as snow won’t be here forever and typically occur only a day or two at time. It provides students and staff a way to still engage in learning while also making it so we won’t go to school past June 16.
If your student was not able to attend today’s virtual learning day, they should check with their teacher next class about the timeline in getting their missed work submitted but also while we’ve still got a few weeks of winter left, don’t forget to take devices home every day and any other necessary class materials. In the case of another virtual learning day, students should sign in to schoology where the virtual instructions including the google meet code will be posted on top of their class schoology page. All assignments for the day will also be posted in their schoology lesson folders as usual.
We hope your first virtual snow day was a success!
