The best part of the holiday season is the anticipation leading up to the big day; the days before where kids are stress free and out of school, families are reunited and in preparation mode and everyone gets into the holiday spirit by watching movies on ABC Family. Luckily, this year South students get one whole singular day to enjoy the anticipation of the holidays before they pass by.

Holiday break is scheduled so students’ last day of school is Dec. 23, two days before both Christmas and Hanukkah begin. The lack of time given before these holidays commence is a concern of many who need to purchase gifts or mentally prepare for the overwhelming sensation only extended family members can induce.

Another concern applies to those who have to venture outside of the Grosse Pointe bubble for all of their holiday endeavors and therefore run a higher risk of missing school in order to arrive to loved one’s home’s in a timely, and low cost, fashion. Public transportation is likely to be much more expensive than usual, especially so near to the holidays. Not to mention, the airport will be an absolute zoo. Traveling anywhere around the holidays is hard enough, but trying to catch a flight Christmas Eve? Good luck.

What’s worse than the lack of time prior to the holidays is the irony in the copious amount of time given after them. Students do not return to school until Jan. 9, giving them a full week of nothing but school to look forward to after New Year’s. Although many families will travel during this week off, the unlucky students left in Grosse Pointe will be left with ample time to worry about the midterms that approach so quickly after break is over, creating quite an unnecessary level of stress.

Midterms always sneak up on students faster than anticipated, and losing a whole week before Christmas where little is accomplished in class does not leave students in the most comforted mindset. After break, students return to school in a more productive and compliant mindset, focused on the daunting task of midterms, much better suited for the retention of information.

A better schedule would’ve been a dismissal earlier than Dec. 23 because, let’s face it, that close to Christmas, students and teachers alike are checked out and not at their peak productivity. An earlier dismissal would have allowed students and their families to travel both more efficiently and inexpensively, as well as another week of school before midterms where students are the most focused and able to retain material for their upcoming exams. We ask that the district considers these factors in coming years when creating South’s schedule.