Dear B-P students,
I’m writing this letter today to beg all of you to please stop. Knock it off. Stop texting me. Stop leaving notes on my windshield. Stop dropping by the district office. I know you want a snow day on Thursday, but things are getting out of hand.
To those of you who have offered me cash bribes, please know that my going rate to call a snow day is $20, minimum. I take Venmo and PayPal, but cash is always best — and not traceable! I will also accept an offer to buy me lunch, but you must follow through within a week’s time.
Whatever happened to the old-school snow day rituals? Wear your pajamas inside out. Stick a spoon under your pillow. Or go flush an ice cube down the toilet. Just stop bothering me!
In all seriousness though, I believe snow days have the ability to generate some of the most precious memories of childhood. Even though the pandemic has forced us to create the ability for students to learn from home, I refuse to let the pandemic take snow days away from our children.
As we head into the winter months, and what some are predicting to be the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should continue to hold on to the magic of the season and the joy that a fresh snowfall brings for a child. And this winter, when enough snow accumulates that I would otherwise have closed schools, students’ only remote assignments will be to play outside, build a snowman, and drink some hot cocoa. In Broadalbin-Perth, snow days will still be snow days.
Please don’t misunderstand me: I’m not saying that Thursday is going to be a snow day. In fact, based on the latest data from the National Weather Service (which is one of many data sources I use when making a decision about whether to call a snow day), it looks like most of the snow will fall to the south and east of us. So, a snow day this Thursday is unlikely.
Then again, I could still be persuaded…
Sincerely and with love for all of you,
Mr. Tomlinson
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