Last week, high school students across Georgia experienced something that most teenagers in the South never have – a snow week.
On Sunday night as the storm rolled in, Cobb County students gripped their cell phones and anxiously watched the evening news as they waited for confirmation of the seemingly inevitable snow day. Finally, the snow day was official and within minutes the mass texts and Facebook updates spread the good news. And so began the week of sledding, snowman building and sleepovers.
For many, Monday was the most surreal day of the break. It involved scoping out the steepest and most slippery hills and making sleds to take advantage of such rare white slopes. After playing in the ghost town-like streets all day, we weren’t surprised when school was cancelled again because of dangerous road conditions. Besides another day to play, it was another day to put off homework.
By Tuesday, the best sledding hills had been identified and the rest of the snow was perfect for snowball fights and snowman making. Unfortunately, as we began to see more and more patches of dry asphalt and on Tuesday afternoon, students were less hopeful as they watched the evening news. But again, Cobb County was listed at the bottom of the screen.
On Wednesday, some of the excitement was beginning to wear off. The icy roads kept us from driving to see school friends. Some students took a break from the snow and actually started on their neglected homework. But despite the boredom, we were granted another day of freedom.
Thursday, the sixth day of our extended weekend, came with noticeably waning enthusiasm. It dawned on some of us that Cobb County only allotted four snow days and additional days would probably be added on during the summer. Most of the main roads were fairly safe but smaller roads were icy enough to keep school closed. Surely by Friday most of the ice would be gone.
But freezing nighttime temperatures extended our snow days into a legitimate snow week. This was unheard of – and frankly unimaginable considering Cobb’s record of staying open when every county around us has cancelled school. Even if the novelty of a snow-covered Cobb County has worn off, at least students can be excited that they witnessed the soon to be infamous Snow Week of 2011.
A junior at Sprayberry High School, Allyson Reyer excels in her honors classes and also balances community involvement in clubs like the National Honors Society and the Arch Leadership program. Outside of school, she loves playing varsity softball and leading her class as the powder-puff football quarterback.
