How Students Spent the Half Day

To most, November 22, 2023 was not a significant day. However, this day marked a joyous occasion in Edgemont: a glorious, much-needed, and much-appreciated half-day. Everyone knows that half days are among the most beautiful things a burnt-out high school student could ever be blessed with. The 25-minute class periods meant little to no time for learning and classes with teachers who turned on movies that were very loosely (and we mean very loosely) tied to the curriculum. But what really makes half days so treasured isn’t what happens in school, but what happens the moment you step foot off campus. Last Wednesday at 11:30 am, the half-day celebrations officially commenced.

Scarsdale Village 

Starting strong, we’ve got the Scarsdale Village. Students celebrated the half-day by trekking to the Village for lunch or an afternoon snack. Though the walk seemed a reasonable distance, it made people far more winded than anyone would like to admit. Students’ muscles were not prepared for the exercise, despite the low-effort treadmill walks that occurred in the weight room during PE. The thrill of this midday escape proved to be a popular option because many were not quite ready to say goodbye to their friends for the three-day weekend. Numerous students reported awkward encounters that entailed recognizing another student but not knowing if they were on proper terms with them to wave. Even teachers were spotted in the Village; some witnesses said they were having lunch with other teachers. This shocked students since it directly challenged the long-held belief that teachers only ate, slept, and worked at the high school. 

Sleeping 

Another popular way to spend the next day was making a beeline for your bed and catching up on the endless hours of sleep missed cramming for school’s perpetual stream of work. There’s nothing like coming home from school to take a long and necessary nap. Who needs lunch when you can have your midday nap? The feeling you get when you wake up from a four-hour snooze only to look out the window to see darkness outside remains unmatched by any pastime. Now that it’s officially break, you can adjust to your vacation sleep schedule that will undo all the progress you made on your journey to be a productive student (or at least the one you were planning to start). 

Homework

Other students were not so lucky — the stream of tests every teacher somehow managed to cram into two and a half days may have spilled over onto the Monday after Thanksgiving break as school resumed its brutal cycle. Some spent the extra three and a half hours frantically trying to plow through as much studying and homework as possible before nightfall, anticipating that family would consume the next few days. Although this is not necessarily bad, the tests looming overhead the whole time will be sure to put a damper on the festivities, which may or may not include becoming an involuntary babysitter for your cousins. 

Students kept themselves busy during the second half of their day with their various activities. As we write this article, Edgemont is approximately three weeks away from winter break, so reminiscing about the half-day is the only way to stay sane until then. The lack of vacations on our schedule has been a major disappointment to the break enthusiasts in the district, so we hope members of the community can find some solace in this article.