The length of winter break at HHS

One of the most anticipated times of the school year is finally upon us, winter break.

For two weeks students are able to take time off and allow themselves time to relax and spend time with their siblings and other family members.

But many students would like to have a longer break. At college they can have upwards of several weeks off, while HHS students are only able to have these ten school days off.

Advice for these students is to stop comparing high school to college, and start comparing HHS to other high schools.

Many colleges have J-term in January, a time when juniors and seniors usually study abroad for a month or take an extra class. As high schoolers we don’t have these opportunities, and are in no need of the extra time off which would just extend the school year to make up for the amount of time spent off.

While the two weeks always feels short, HHS has the longest break of any in the Lake Conference District. Eden Prairie and Wayzata Schools come in second place, with eight days off and this year both Minnetonka and Edina only have one week off (five days).

Even at private schools such as The Blake School and Breck School they have the same two weeks off, from 12/24/18 to 1/4/19.

The Madison Metropolitan School District in Wisconsin and Santa Monica High School in California have the same length as us as well.

When looking at high schools internationally, the length of winter break starts to increase. Lycée Français Prins Henrik is a high school, or “gymnasium,” located in Denmark with a winter break that spans twelve instead of the ten days that have been seen in the United States.

The length in all of these high schools is similar, with HHS being on the longer side.

Spend time with family and friends, have fun doing activities you enjoy, and take time to relax to make the most of winter break.