Winter 2016/2017 has been treacherous. With the incredibly cold weather, this winter has been a record breaker. For schools all across the Portland Metro area, classroom time has been interrupted by the fury of mother nature.

Since the beginning of December, the Gresham-Barlow School district has had to cancel 9 days of school. Many students did not view this as a bad thing however.

“I thought a few days less of school would be good for all of us, but the consecutive winter storms that have hit were getting old because nobody could drive anywhere.” Said Tyler Kruckman, a senior at Gresham High.

Since Gresham-Barlow School District has a joint schedule, an odd incident occurred when Gresham High School’s power went out. Administrators decided to close Gresham while keeping Barlow High open for the day.

Unfortunately, many students became disappointed upon learning that the school district will have to make those days up during the summer. “The state of Oregon has a required amount of hours of education that each school must meet.” said Principle Schaefer. “Our only alternative is to let school out later into the year, which will allow us to meet those state standards,” he said.

Administrators will decide on how to make up those missed day within the next month.

Many other schools in the area were affected by the winter storms. Sandy High School, located to the east, canceled school 8 out of 11 days following winter break.. Because of the slight change in elevation, many roads became iced over making them unsuitable for school busses and cars alike.

School cancellations have also interfered with after school activities. Snowball, which was originally scheduled for December 7th had to be rescheduled to January 7th. Upon learning of another possible ice storm happening on Snoball Night, Student Council had to reschedule the dance again to a later date.

“It sucks because a lot of girls and guys spent a lot of money to get ready for this dance,” Nicole Kovac, a junior said.

“There are families that don’t have the income to waste money on a dance twice.” Kovac said.

As the winter goes on, administrators will find ways to ensure the safety and comfortability of their students and try to make the rest of the school year as enjoyable as possible.