Every year since 2021, WylieISD has closed down their schools for at least one day due to snow and ice on the road. This year the annual district wide shutdown took place on January 9th and 10th. This shutdown came only 2 days after students returned to school from winter break making the snow days feel like an extension of the 3 week break.
“I really liked the snow days because I didn’t want to come back to school. Honestly I don’t think anyone wanted to come back so it was great,” Amanie Kain (12) said.
These snow days are rare in Texas because of how far it is in the South, but when it does snow, those are the days that people of all ages will be seen all over the town. Footprints left in the snow of all sizes were all over neighborhoods.
“Me [Casey Sands], Owen Nunn, and Kester Gyasi-Frempah went to the neighborhood over Southfork which we hadn’t been to in a while because as kids we were scared off by adults and their stories. When we went we saw families playing in the park, so many snowmen, and we just realized how beautiful it was. The stories we heard had nothing to do with the community and how close they were,” Casey Sands (11) said.
On their snow day, students found themselves drawn back to familiar places from their childhood. Some ended up in close-by neighborhoods, taking in the laughter and warmth of families enjoying the snow. Others returned to spots they hadn’t been in years because the roads were unsafe to drive on, so they resorted to closer places like elementary schools.
“I decided to go back to my old elementary school, Smith, and sled down a very large hill. I remember running down it when I was younger, thinking about how big the hill was. Now that I am older, I realized the hill was in fact not as big as I remembered. Despite my disappointment, I had lots of fun sledding in the snow,” Nathan Oksanen (12) said.