Senior Brenna Premm puts white crayons in the freezer.  Junior Mia DeSciscio flushes ice cubes down the toilet.  Bridget Sweeney, a sophomore, turns her pajamas inside out.  Bobby Perebzak puts a spoon under his pillow. Bobby said, “Every night that I think we might get a snow day, I take a super cold shower, put my fuzzy green socks on and then I put my favorite Dora the Explorer spoon under my pillow.  All jokes aside, this is what I do.”

These students and others wake up early to go to school on a winter day.  They are cold, tired, and desperately in need of more sleep.  Then (alleluia!!!), they get that alert on their cell phones or television that they have the day off!

Snow days are great for students, but a lengthy process takes place before the announcement. If a winter storm is headed our way, Fr. Mark Carr, principal, wakes about 5 AM to begin monitoring the weather.

According to Fr. Carr’s detailed email in response to The Pioneer’s questions, arriving at a consensus to call a snow day can be complicated.

“The following factors are considered when determining a snow day: Student safety, especially when driving to and from school, weather conditions, including snow, ice, cold, and visibility, road conditions, current and forecast conditions, and decisions of other area schools.

“ [We] Gather input from various Walsh Jesuit administrators and staff, who live in different parts of the greater Cleveland-Akron area.  Since Walsh Jesuit students come from a large geographic area, getting information from Summit County, Cuyahoga County, and Medina County is important.  Weather conditions in one location may be very different than those in another.

“We sometimes text with other area principals.  For example Archbishop Hoban and St. Vincent/St. Mary—  about decisions to close our schools.”

Fr. Carr concluded his message, writing, “ A decision to close the school must be made by 6:00AM.  That decision gets communicated to the Walsh Jesuit bus drivers and A Taste of Excellence workers first.  A automated phone call is made to Walsh Jesuit families and another one to faculty and staff.”

Finally, the weather systems align to make the day a reality. But another factor may be in play…

As some know, Latin teacher Mr. Jim Storad leads some snow day rituals that determine if there will be a snow day.

For 25 years, he has been taking his students outside to face the direction of the oncoming storm, hold out their hands, and “pull the storm towards the school.”  He claims his students have an 80 percent success rate over the years.

Mr Storad continued, “I do this to ramp up the excitement and the idea of a snow day. The only reason we are not 100 percent is because people do not believe. I always say ‘all students have to believe for a snow day.’”

As Mr. Storad declares with confidence, “IF THERE IS SNOW, THEN WE DO NOT GO!”