The countdown for spring break is on after the 18 day Christmas break, which has been the longest break in over 20 years.

The bees are buzzing about their breaks and how they felt about the length of the much deserved time off.

The Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School had midterms prior to break, which students and teachers felt was much better than worrying about coming back to exams after break.

Christmas break was from December 22, 2023 to January 8, 2024 with January 8 being MLK day.

Grace Hunt, junior, says, “I really liked it. I appreciated having the second week of break after New Year. I was able to take a trip to DC and spent lots of time snowboarding.”

Jaci Owens, guidance counselor for juniors A-K, says, “I think students and staff alike appreciated the 2 week long winter break, especially after completing three days of midterm exams. Time to decompress and spend time with family and friends between semesters was nice.”

Yet, for some people, going on break isn’t always a happy feeling.

According to an article by U.S. News on “How to Maintain Good Mental Health During College Break”, mental health can be a big issue and it’s not just for college students.

Cole Claybourn, author of the article, wrote, “When the adrenaline of a semester or school year subsides is often when mental health issues are heightened or exposed.”

According to the article, it’s common to feel anxious, lonely and sad while on break; but there are many ways to combat these feelings.

In the article written by Claybourn, he writes, “To cope with mental health struggles, experts say good sleep, a proper diet and regular exercise remain some of the best tactics. They can help maintain some structure that’s been established over the course of the semester and avoid lulls that could increase anxiety.”

With that being said, states and other countries are introducing year-round schooling rather than the usual 9 months of school and 3 months of summer.

In the article, The Pros and Cons of Year-Round School Calendars by Andrew Warner with U.S. News, it states, “One of the advantages of a balanced calendar is that students get more frequent breaks throughout the year, which proponents of the model say can help reduce burnout among teachers and students,”.

Shelley Zavarella, former student and Brecksville mom, says, “I’m not completely opposed to the idea. I have friends whose children do year-round schooling, but I do like that kids can be kids and have a nice long summer break to enjoy. The last day of school is always so exciting for kids,”.

For students like Grace, she strongly opposes the idea of year-round schooling.

“I think it’s important to have a long summer break so we can enjoy the warm weather and mentally reset before the next school year,” says Hunt.

Although schools in other areas have started this year-round schooling, there aren’t very many benefits.

According to a study by Paul Von Hippel, associate dean for research at the University of Texas- Austin’s School of Public affairs, it analyzes data from several school district and the studies “show little in the way of significant educational improvements when schools switched to a year-round calendar – and some even see slight declines in academic performance,” wrote Warner.

Nathan Elliot, former student and teacher at Brecksville, agrees with the popular vote of no year-round schooling, saying, “I feel year-round schooling would be more strenuous for students to focus with the nicer weather. Also, most year-round schools have weeks on and then off which may be difficult for students to be focused. Lastly, students who had day jobs during the summer would be at a disadvantage,”.

Overall, it seems the bees think their 18 day break was much needed and very deserved.

What did you think, was it two weeks too long?