Published: March 03, 2008 10:35 pm            

Taking a break from it all

Students, teachers ready for a change

Spring break is the last official “break” students have until summer vacation.

Many students are looking forward to this week of relaxation because after this, school will seem to fly by, and that means summer is right around the corner. Spring break is also a time for family vacations, get-togethers, and time to rest and relax.

While many students go on vacations, some students prefer to stay home and spend time with their family. Rachel Colasessano, a junior at Fairmont Senior High School, says, “I plan on staying home with my family and spending time with relatives.”

However, if staying home isn’t what you have in mind, you can always pack your bags and get away for a few days. Monica Dunlap, a junior at FSHS, says that she plans to go to Las Vegas, Nev., and then travel to San Francisco with her dad.

It seems like more and more high school students are staying home with their families now than in the past. There could be many reasons, one major one being that parents are concerned with their children’s safety. Many parents do not want to put their child in danger because of past instances of youths disappearing. David Holmes, a junior at FSHS, says that his parents trust him, but they are just worried about what could happen.

Also, many parents do not feel as if their children are mature enough to travel alone. Therefore, many families travel together. Stephanie Woods, a junior at FSHS, says, “My family might travel to North Carolina to visit some friends and relatives.” These families often enjoy their break by going out of town for the whole week.

Even though spring break is right around the corner, many students do not know what they are going to do with their time off. Participating in extracurricular activities makes it very hard for students to plan a trip and leave for a week.

Morgan Cain, a junior at FSHS, says, “Since I won’t be in school for a week, I will be focusing on lacrosse.”

Many students, along with Cain, reprioritize their schedules and move their extracurricular activities to the top of their list for the week.

Not only do students travel to beaches and other locations for spring break, but many students also travel to their top colleges. While she’s not training for lacrosse, Cain plans on visiting the University of Cincinnati with her family.

“I’m really interested in this particular university, and I think this is the perfect opportunity to visit it.”

Lauren Retton, a junior at FSHS, says she plans to travel to South Carolina to visit Newberry College.

“I think visiting colleges and universities during spring break are a good idea because you don’t have to miss school and you aren’t bombarded with plans like you are in the summer.”

While many students take advantage of their week off, many students want to spend their last week before summer vacation relaxing.

Colasessano says, “I plan to catch up on sleep and finish any homework that I have.”

Lauren McClain, a junior at FSHS, says that she wants to spend time with her friends. These students want to have a peaceful and calm break by staying home.

While freshman, sophomores and juniors will have at least one more spring break, the senior class will have its last spring break during its high school career. While some students plan on spending their week off with their family, some students are deciding to travel with their friends.

Amanda Prahl, a senior at FSHS, says that she hopes to go to the beach. Even though some seniors plan to travel, many of them want to stay home with their family.

Sarah Nestor, a senior at FSHS, says, “I will probably stay home and spend quality time with friends from out of town.”

Along with Nestor, Emily Facemire says that there is a possibility she will go out of town, but she will probably stay in Fairmont for spring break.

Not only do students travel and make plans for spring break, but several teachers have also blocked off time to do things that they enjoy. Sally Feltz, Honors English teacher, says that she plans on reading books that she has neglected.

Nancy Tonkery, journalism/librarian teacher, says, “I plan on traveling to Amish Country in Ohio with my husband to visit friends.”

These teachers, along with students, are more than happy to replace one week of school with one week of relaxation.

Even though spring break is a couple of weeks away, students, along with teachers, have been looking forward to this week for many months. Whether students stay home or they decide to travel, this spring break will be enjoyable to all.

No matter how high school students and teachers decide to spend their spring break, they will both agree that having one week off is a necessity.

        

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