In the United States, the typical academic school year consists of 180 days, ranging over the span of nine months for students K-12.  The school year usually begins in the early fall months and comes to an end in the later spring months. During the period in which school is in session, there are several holidays where students are relieved from attending school.  

These breaks during the school year are determined by all federal and state holidays. Some of the major breaks are Thanksgiving, Christmas/Holiday, President’s Day, Spring and Summer Break.

At OHS, Dec. 21 marked the last day of school in 2016, and the start of winter break. This year, winter break lasted for 12 days, encompassing two major calendar holidays: Christmas and New Year’s. During the almost two week period, students were not required to attend class and were free to spend their break as they desired. Many students traveled, while others simply had a staycation.

As Christmas approached, more students seemed to remained situated within Minnesota to celebrate the holiday.

“I love being home for Christmas and going to Christmas Eve mass at St. Bart’s. I have been doing it every since I was little and I like having it as a tradition  The church is always so packed, but I can’t imagine going anywhere else for Christmas,” senior Jenna Rakos said.  

It was not until after Christmas, that the vast majority of students left Minnesota in hopes of finding warmer weather. On Dec. 26, senior, Jenna Rakos left with her family for Naples, Florida. She was gone for 10 days and even missing the first day back to school in the new year.  

Senior Jimmy Mernik also left for Florida after Christmas. Mernik and his family spent six days in Fort Myers soaking up as much sun as possible before the return back to the frigid winter of Minnesota.

“Vacationing in Fort Myers over winter break was really nice, especially to get away from the cold and visit my grandma. It was hard to come back to reality though…I would have much rather stayed down there,” Mernik said.

Farther up the east coast, sophomore Amanda Marquis and her mother flew to New York for a girls getaway.  During their trip they spent four days strolling the streets of New York City and touring the attractions the city is known for, like the ever so famous Statue of Liberty. The two travelers even managed to obtain tickets to the Broadway hits Hamilton and On Your Feet.

“After Hamilton we got to go onstage and meet the cast.  I was so in shock and I could not move or stop crying. They were tears of joy obviously though,” Marquis said.

Others were not fortunate enough to escape the cold tundra that we call home. However, freshman, Allie Swenson spent New Year’s with her family at Lutsen Resort and Lodge on Lake Superior. She spent that vast majority of the trip skiing all over the resort ringing in the new year.

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“It was really fun skiing at Lutsen with my family and we got three to six inches of powder which was amazing,” Swenson said.

Closer to home, senior Luke Anderson’s winter break was the epitome of a staycation. Anderson spent most of his break catching up on the hours of sleep that he had lost during the first part of the school year. Besides the plentiful hours of sleep that consumed most of Anderson’s break, he spent the remainder of his time hanging out with friends and playing pond hockey.

“I had fun at home and went to Klapperich a lot with some friends and played hockey,” said Anderson.

As the 12 day long winter break came to an end on Jan. 4, students began to return home from their vacation destinations. Students traveled all over the country, while others stayed closer to home to enjoy the holiday season.  Wherever students spent their break, they enabled themselves to take a breather from their academic rigor.