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HRM students bemoan lack of weather cancellations this school year – Metro US

HRM students bemoan lack of weather cancellations this school year

It’s the announcement every kid waits for during the winter months.

When it finally comes, the ever-elusive snow day is a thing of pure joy for students — a precious 24 hours spent away from the classroom, jumping into newly formed snowbanks or flying down white-washed hills on a Crazy Carpet.

Winter in Nova Scotia normally holds the promise of at least one or two such days between October and March, but this season has been one of the least stormy of the past two decades — and students are still waiting for that first cancellation.

“It’s pretty upsetting,” conceded Kathryn MacDonald, a Grade 12 student at Dartmouth High School. “I kind of wait for that break in school, and it just hasn’t come. And on top of that it’s been cold … so you actually have to get up out of your nice warm bed and go out in freezing temperatures.”

But according to Halifax Regional School Board spokesman Doug Hadley, not everyone is complaining.

“I’m sure some people look forward to (snow days), but there are thousands of parents who are probably happy that we haven’t had any,” Hadley said. “It can be pretty inconvenient.”

The last time the HRSB went an entire winter without a snow day was during the 1998-99 school year. Hadley said despite the fact that single-day cancellations are not overly disruptive to the learning process, the decision to keep students home is never taken lightly.

HRSB has been keeping track of snow stats since 1997. Prior to that there were three separate boards that did it within HRM.

Storm headed our way
HRSB may face its first tough call of the season tomorrow. An overnight storm is expected to dump 15 cm of snow on the municipality before dawn.

“We’ll make the decision early,” spokesman Doug Hadley said. “We try to have all the information gathered prior to 6 a.m., so our decision can be made and communicated at that time.”