By: Ryanna Lui
Ski week, the week of bliss away from the academic stress of school every February, is a blessing to all MUSD students. This break is beneficial for students in more than one way, which is why we should continue to keep it in the school calendar.
For those of us who have friends attending other high schools, it can be hard to find a time for everyone to meet up. Ski week is the perfect time to spend some quality time with these friends. As far as I know, the local public schools in the area also have ski week, allowing for these meetups. Moreover, making time for family and catching up with distant relatives are activities one can use break to fulfil.
Attending academic camps and programs is an excellent use of the time off from school as well, if one is ambitious and wants to make their ski break a fruitful experience. Local colleges and university are very likely to be offering short-term enrichment programs. Also, some religious institutions have spiritual retreats during ski week.
Additionally, the months of March, April, and May tend to get increasingly hectic. Students prepare for their AP tests in May with increasing intensity, and teachers will be cramming in activities that were not executed earlier during the semester before the end of the school year. And this doesn’t even include any random personal issues that decide to spontaneously appear, as they often do in life. Students need time to mentally prepare and cope for this chaos.
Another important reason for ski break is the time off for traveling. In fact, some people actually ski during ski break. I know I definitely have in previous years. Skiing doesn’t have to be restricted to a weekend trip, and the process of driving to and from the ski slopes would be a lot more relaxing with the length of time break entails. I wouldn’t want to arrive home at two in the morning and then wake up after four hours of sleep and get ready for school. Good thing we have ski break.
One downside of ski week is the amount of homework assigned. It’s understandable that homework is necessary because it helps students retain the information they learn before going on break, but at the same time, I believe that it defeats the purpose of break. Shouldn’t a break be completely free from work? Nevertheless, I’d still prefer a break paired with a reasonable amount of work than no break at all.
Anyway, who doesn’t like a nice period of time just for relaxation? Breaks don’t come by often, and they don’t necessarily have to be justified with doing something productive; sometimes, people just need some time to get off the grind and recover from their mental exhaustion. School is tough. Life is tough. Ski break is a welcomed break.
