During the winter, teachers, students, and staff members never know how the weather will be. Whether it is below zero degrees, the road are icy, or there is a lot of snow, students and teachers must always be prepared for cancellations and two-hour delays. After all, anything below a -20 degree wind chill must be cancelled.

Friday January 25, started the streak of bad weather. It was Turnabout day for Griffith High School. That morning, parents received the news that Griffith would have a two-hour delay due to a cold windchill and a lot of snow. Students attending Turnabout later that night had to be at school from 9:45 a.m., when first hour started, until the end of third hour, which ended at 11:34 a.m.. Other students just followed the regular two hour delay schedule.

The next Monday through Thursday, school was cancelled to historically cold temperatures and heavy snowfall. man referred to it asa “second winter break.” Although students couldn’t go out because of the weather, many were happy to be able to relax and worry about assignments and tests for the next few days.

Wednesday, January 30, had “historical and life-threatening cold”, with the wind chill reaching as low as -50 degrees, and temperatures as low as -28 degrees. On Thursday, January 31, the wind chill reached as low as -40 degrees with the actual temperature being -28 degrees. According to NBC Chicago, the January 30 and 31 temperatures were dangerous and life-threatening, since frostbite can occur in as little as two to five minutes.

Events such as the National Honor society Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser and the Griffith Boys Varsity Basketball games against Munster were cancelled on January 30. The spaghetti dinner will not be rescheduled, but the Boys Varsity basketball game was rescheduled to Wednesday, February 13. Griffith won 56-52.

The decision to cancel school or have a two hour delay is determined on whether the buses can start and safely transport students, inches of snowfall, and temperature and wind chill. A two-hour delay may be called to see if the weather will improve in the two hours. the protocol temperature for school to be cancelled in a -20 wind chill.

According to superintendent Michelle Riise, the process to cancel and delay school two hours begins early in the morning. She works with the griffith Police Department, the director of public works, the emergency management systems, and the Lake County superintendents to determine whether school should be cancelled or not. The superintendents discuss in a “group chat” what the decision should be. the must make their decision before the busses begin their route and before students and teachers get ready for school.

By law, school must go on for a minimum of 180 days, so each missed day must be made up either at the end of the year or replace a day off, such as President’s Day or Martin Luther King Day. Because of the four days missed, the last day of school will be June 6.

“We decided to add on all the days at the end of the year so that the students can have occasional break in the middle of the year,” said Riise.

Students also received iPads to prepare for college and adulthood, keep up with missed work, and be able to do assignments on cancelled school days. Many schools have eLearning to make up snow days. However, according to Riise, Griffith cannot apply for eLearning until they meet the criteria. Some requirements include using an iPad everyday for a year and doing online assessments.

“I believe the once we transition into eLearning, it will benefit us on the years with unusually large amounts of school cancellations due to the weather,” said Riise.