On January 5, 2025–the last day of winter break for Lawrence Public School students–a massive blizzard hit, producing 11.5 inches of snow that needed to be plowed before school could begin. 

Up to February 21st, LPS called off school nine times due to ice and snow. 

In preparation for snow days, the district allots only three days of the year to be lost to inclement weather.  

With the loss of instructional time, math teacher Wayne Rush had to adapt the lesson plans for the four math courses he teaches. 

“The biggest issue with my lessons is having to move some things around from the original plans,” Rush said. “That means maybe having to give a test on a Monday, which I’m not a big fan of, or having to group two lessons into a single day.” 

Without the stress of adjusting lesson plans, students like freshman Lucy Godfrey appreciated a slow start to the second semester.

 “I think it made it easier when we came back but then we were only here for 3 days, so we didn’t have a full week for a while,” Godfrey said. 

For many LHS students, a snow day is something to celebrate, but Rush witnessed the high amount of cancellations hurting students’ academic success. 

“The biggest impact I’ve seen on students is difficulty getting into a ‘rhythm’ this semester. High school students are creatures of habit and routine,” Rush said. “When that routine is continuously getting interrupted and changed, it makes it very difficult to have solid, regular study habits.” 

Sophomore Tyler Urban, like many LHS students, spent the snow days catching up with friends after most of the roads had been cleared.

“The first couple [days] I was just at home because I couldn’t really go anywhere, but then I went out and sledded with some friends,” Urban said. 

With the extra time off from school, students found unique ways to spend their days, including the popular trend of ‘nominating’ friends to jump in the snow, often in swimsuits, via Snapchat. 

Although most were unsure where the trend originated, students like Urban were eager to join in. 

“I was nominated by my friend Sullivan Leicht,” Urban said. “It was kind of miserable, I have no idea how it started.” 

Due to technical difficulties, Godfrey ended up participating in the challenge more than once. 

“Kylee Chee nominated me, it wasn’t bad but I had to do it twice because the first time I forgot to record,” Godfrey said.

Overall, Godfrey enjoyed the communal aspect of the challenge. 

“I hope it becomes a tradition because it’s pretty fun,” Godfrey said.