Some names of the people interviewed for this story have been changed to protect their privacy.
From waking up at 12 p.m. to basking under the sun on a beach, winter break provides students with the perfect amount of time to relax and recuperate after a stressful first semester.
But this year, winter break will not last nearly as long as usual.
Over a decade ago, the School determined that the academic calendar should consist of 180 school days. A few years later though in 2016, the School settled at 170 instructional days due to added comment-writing days for faculty and occasional holidays.
Because of Hurricane Harvey, the 2021 freeze and Covid-19, the school year shortened even further to 166 days. This year, though, the academic calendar has increased back to 172 school days since the administration has reduced winter break from 18 days to 13 days.
Previously, winter break and summer break were the two main periods for student travel. However, for many students, winter break is now too short for their usual trips. Students have to choose between shorter trips, closer destinations or omitting vacation altogether, also leaving little time to recover from academic stress.
“I still want enough time for vacation during the summer, but it would’ve been nice if the time was spaced out a little bit,” freshman Selina, not their real name, said.
Students who travel all over the world now face greater scheduling challenges, with families trying to plan larger vacations, such as to Hawaii or France, in one week. Additionally, many students are no longer able to spend as much time with siblings who are visiting from college since their winter breaks no longer overlap.
“It’s hard to match all of our schedules together so that we can all spend time with each other,” freshman April, not their real name, said.
After a jam-packed first semester and hectic week of midterm exams, students need winter break for resting and recharging. Shortening this break cuts back significantly on downtime from school.
“Students at St. John’s work too hard to have the only long break we have the entire year shortened,” freshman Carly, not their real name, said.
Students also often spend winter break catching up on hobbies and pastimes, from watching TV to reading for pleasure.
“For me, it’s crocheting. I don’t have time to crochet during the school year,” April said.
But the shorter winter break may help improve mental health.
“We were just packing this volume of events, assignments and learning outcomes into fewer days,” Head of School Dan Alig said in a school-wide email on Jan. 30, 2023. “That’s my definition of overextension and stress.”
The extra school days give students more time to manage their workload without increasing stress and offer more time to study for midterms. While the winter break reduction has altered due dates and shortened several trips, the school year is just as long as it has been historically.
Although there are still occasional off-days and the full Thanksgiving break, many can agree that the shortened winter break does not give students enough time to recover after the first semester.
