The last one, the last break before students are out for three months and get to enjoy the hot sun and beach days.
During the months of January to the end of March, students do not get many breaks from school aside from the occasional three-day weekend. They continue the same daily routine, counting the days until there is another break.
“It feels exhausting because you have nothing to look forward to, so you fall into the same day-to-day life routine,” Zoee Young, Lakeland High School senior, said. “Then life just gets boring because it’s the same thing every day, and it’s just too predictable.”
With spring break starting on March 22, students are becoming antsy for the long-anticipated vacation from school.
Some students plan to stay home and relax during the week-long break, while others take road trips and visit new places.
Visiting a new location with friends or family can be exciting for students and create lifelong memories.
Over spring break, Young plans to take a road trip with several friends to Bend, Oregon.
“I’m excited to go because I’ve never been there,” Young said. “But I’m also excited because going on an eight-hour long road trip with your friends is reaching a new milestone in your life because it shows you that you are old enough to go on road trips without your parents.”
Other students at LHS also plan on taking trips; some even plan on going overseas.
Regan Wright and Caroline Gallus will be taking a cruise to Puerto Vallarta Cabo and Mazatlan over spring break with their mothers.
“I have never been out of the country or to a tropical and warm place so it’s exciting going with my family and friends,” Gallus said. “It means a lot because we have always tried planning a senior trip together and now we finally get to do it and I think it will be very memorable.”
Athletes tend to spend their breaks at practice and on sports trips. With a week off from school, coaches can schedule games that take more of a trip.
The softball team will travel to Missoula, Montana, to compete in a tournament against Hamilton High School and Frenchtown High School on March 28 and 29.
Kyla Holte, a senior on the softball team, is looking forward to the tournament to further grow her skills and make memories with her teammates.
“It’s our first game, so that’s exciting,” Holte said. “It’s sad that it’s the last season, but I am excited for it nonetheless. Softball and sports have taught me a lot of life lessons, and it will definitely be weird once sports are over.”
For seniors, the last spring break has a bittersweet feeling. This will be their last break before they graduate and move on to the next chapter in their lives.
“It’s sad, it’s really sad,” Young said. “There’s nothing left to school; you’re just done. I remember looking back freshman year, thinking my spring break sucked, but it didn’t matter because I had so many ahead of me. But now, this is the last one, so I got to make it count.”
Teachers and staff members also look forward to upcoming breaks. Despite what some students may believe, teachers also enjoy time away from school to partake in their hobbies and spend time with their family and friends.
Shannon Hall, an English teacher at LHS, also enjoys spring break because it is her anniversary, so she always makes plans for the break.
“For spring break, my husband and I are flying to New Orleans,” Hall said. “It is our 25th wedding anniversary. We got married during spring break so we would have an excuse to travel somewhere every year at this break.”
Hall is looking forward to experiencing a new culture and learning a history she has never seen before.
Hall believes school breaks are essential to have a proper balance in life.
“Humans are not meant to work 24-7, and having time during the year to rest, to catch up on home needs and to indulge in pastimes that we are too busy to usually enjoy the rest of the year is important to that balance,” she said.
