The winter break is a time enjoyed by many at State College Area High School. 12 days free of school, extracurriculars, and other responsibilities is a great way to recharge and prepare for both the new year and the end of the semester. But what if the winter break were just slightly longer?
Even though it was a 12-day period, the winter break was packed with many holidays, including New Year’s, Kwanzaa, and Christmas. Follow that with the fact that the break includes many traveling to different places and visiting family, and it can go by extremely quickly.
Sophomore Grayson Goza remarked, “The end date was fine, but the start date was strange, pushing it all the way up to the 24th.” He followed by saying, “I wasn’t a big fan of the first day of my winter break being Christmas Eve. I know not everyone celebrates Christmas, but I personally celebrate it.”
Goza’s idea of having the winter break start earlier is interesting. This past winter break, students attended school on Monday and Tuesday during the second-to-last week of December. The break then took place from Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025, until Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, encompassing 12 days. If there were no school on Monday and Tuesday, the break would’ve extended to 16 days, starting on Saturday, Dec. 20.
Sophomore Arnav Gubbini supported this idea, saying, “If the schedule were to stay the same, I don’t think there’s a point to having a two-day week before, so I would add a day or two before so that the break would start on a weekend and end on a weekend.”
During those two days, Gubbini mentioned, school took place for just 12 hours, as the time was additionally filled with the Mental Health Summit. This scant amount of school time is easily replaceable, and even though removing this would require removing the mental health summit as well, there would still be mental health benefits.
Goza stated, “I believe it would have a positive impact on people’s mental health. There would be no stress about school work or homework, and people could go outside more, play in the snow, or spend time outdoors.”
Gubbini agreed with this idea, and said, “I think it would have a positive impact on people’s mental health.”
However, some disagreed. Freshman Ryan Loy said, “They should keep it the same as it is. We should get more time on other breaks.” He did agree that a longer break may have positive impacts on mental health.
Overall, extending the winter break by removing the two-day week before it could bring both positive and negative impacts. It is certainly a decision that should be considered by the administration and staff, even though not every student may be in favor of it. This is one way the complicated education schedule could be improved, and though it may seem strange to some, it should not be overlooked.
