On Feb. 10, a cold front passed through Kansas and other midwestern states. The winter weather affected the roads along with causing various power outages. The weather affected USD 373, causing the school district to cancel school on Feb. 8 and Feb. 16. 

Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, there have been three days in which was cancelled due to inclement weather. The earliest of those cancellations was on Oct. 26 for snowy weather. Students have had free time to enjoy inside and outside activities during the cancellation days. Some students took this time to reminisce about their past snow day experiences. 

“I spend most of my time inside now, but when I was little I spent most of my time outside,” junior Grace Owen said. “My favorite memory from a past snow day would be me and my dad sitting in our sled and sledding down the hill in our backyard and when we got to the bottom we fell out of the sled.”

The temperatures between Feb. 10 and Feb. 20 had an average of 11 degrees. In Kansas, an average temperature for the month of February is usually a high of 41 and a low of 26.1 Fahrenheit according to Weather Atlas. 

“Whether or not I spend my time indoors or outdoors during a snowy day depends on how much snow there is,” junior Madelynn Hamm said. “If there’s not enough to do anything fun with, then I usually just stay inside. I guess another factor is how cold it is, like these past couple days that have been below zero haven’t made me want to go outside as much. When I was younger though I think I was a lot more excited for snow days, although snow days are still pretty fun.”

On Feb. 15, students did not have school due to President’s Day. Throughout the early evening, guardians of the students received word that there would not be school on the following day due to the continuation of snow, low temperatures and icy road conditions. The snowstorm was the first widespread snowfall of the season. Newton and surrounding area schools, such as those in the Hesston and Halstead school districts also canceled school on Feb. 16. Three days later on Feb. 19, Harvey County received 2.5 inches of snow. 

“I’m more excited for them now because it means I get more sleep and more time to catch up on important assignments,” Owen said. “When I was little on snow days I would spend all day playing in the snow and sledding down a hill that we had in our backyard. I go sledding sometimes, but not as much as I used to.”