After a winter vacation that lasted a little over a week, students filed back into the
Hingham High School hallways on Tuesday, resuming term 2 courses and beginning the preparation for upcoming midyear exams.

On the first day of classes in the new year, most classes picked up with new lessons, while others introduced midyear materials.

However, many students suggested throughout the day that the winter break did not feel long enough this year.

This year’s holiday break began after the academic school day on Friday, December 22. Unlike February and April vacation, the winter vacation varies in the number of days it lasts.

Last year, the vacation was the shortest in years, giving students only six school days off. Similarly, the break this year was six days long, but school resumed one day earlier than last year.

The winter break includes both the holidays of Christmas and New Year’s. These holidays are ideal for spending time with family, whether that means traveling or relaxing at home. Especially for busy high school students, the break is an opportunity for relaxation, and a perfect time for taking a break from school, work, and sports.

However, some students returning to school were immediately given extensive amounts of homework, and also began to prepare for midyear exams. Along with the stress from this, many students were also exhausted from traveling and did not feel like they had enough time to recover.

Freshman Danielle Harris traveled to Florida over the vacation, and shares, “I did not have enough time to relax after my flight because we went back to school right after New Year’s Day, and we usually have a day or two after New Year’s Day off.”

Every year, school resumes after vacation on a Tuesday, giving students the Monday before off from school. Last year, January 2 fell on the Monday off, giving students an extra day after New Year’s Day away from school. This year, however, New Year’s Day fell on Monday, and school resumed on January 2. As a result, this winter vacation felt especially short this year.

Since school started on January 2, multiple students returned to school exhausted from staying up until midnight the night before to welcome the new year. Some of these students traveled places to celebrate New Year’s Eve, and were forced to return to town on New Year’s Day in order to make it back before school started.

Unfortunately, the icy temperatures this week have delayed some travel plans. Sophomore Riley Potter has a friend who “has been stuck in Florida nearly all week because the cold temperatures have caused many flight cancellations and delays.”

Even for students like sophomore Ryan Swett, who stayed home for the majority of the vacation, this year “felt like the shortest one in years. We really needed more time off.”

However, students only returned to school briefly, as the two snow days on Thursday and Friday shortened this four day week to only two days. For most students, this was almost an extension of the break, making it feel a little bit longer.