New York City faced its first blizzard in a decade during mid-winter break, and while some students and staff were already home, many prepared to stay home just in case. Plans changed as people stocked up on supplies and figured out how to spend the unexpected time at home.
To understand how the blizzard warning changed mid-winter break for our school community, The Dragon’s Den spoke with students and staff about how they prepared, whether they felt ready, and how they spent the unexpected time at home. Their responses show the stress of last minute changes, but also the simple benefits of having an extra day to rest and reset.
While many students and staff adjusted their mid-winter break plans because of the blizzard warning in New York City, Ms.Amato, Current Legal Issues and Global teacher, narrowly avoided major disruption. She had been in Mexico for a wedding and returned home Saturday night, just before the storm hit. “We kind of rushed to prepare stuff, but for the most part we were good to go,” she said, explaining that although the timing was tight, her travel plans stayed intact.
After days of celebrating, since she was part of the wedding party, Ms. Amato welcomed the unexpected snow day as a chance to rest and catch up on work. The storm did not impact her classroom and teacher responsibilities because the schools chose a traditional snow day instead of remote learning. Still, she described the experience as “Very stressful…especially having to prepare at the very last minute after traveling,” even if the extra day at home ultimately felt like a small bonus to end her break.
A huge pile of snow that remains on a neighborhood street corner after New York City’s first blizzard in a decade.
Memoona Ashfaq, a senior at John Dewey High school, had planned to visit family in Philadelphia for the first week of Ramadan. “Because of the severe blizzard warning, we weren’t able to go and had to postpone our trip,” she said.
Ashfaq said that the storm did not surprise her. She has seen the warning on the news days before, so her family had time to prepare and buy what they needed. Instead of traveling, she spent the extra time resting and being with her family. “The fun part about having an extra day off was just being able to rest,” she said.
She believes storm warnings are handled well in NYC, but thinks that schools should have switched to remote learning because the roads and sidewalks were still icy. Even though her plans changed, she made the most of her break at home with her family.
Mitra Akhmedova, another senior, was away in Pennsylvania during the mid-winter break when the blizzard hit. Although the storm did not directly affect her original plans, it changed how she spent her time. “I spent my extra time by spending time with my sister and brother-in-law, especially because I don’t get to see them that often,” she shared. Despite being caught off guard by the storm, Mitra appreciated the chance to relax with family. However the trip back to New York City did have its challenges. “The roads were still icy and it was definitely risky,” she recalled. Still, Mitra found comfort in the unexpected downtime: “The positive part about all this was just staying warm inside with the people I love most.”
Despite the last minute changes, many found unexpected benefits in the storms disruption, with extra rest and time with loved ones helping to make the best of an unplanned break.