By Monika Garcia 

On Thursday, January 20th, Madison high school along with other NEISD schools shut down schools due to the wintery weather occurring that day. The district concluded roads would be too icy, causing teachers to be absent, resulting in being understaffed. 

         “I was ecstatic, it’s very interesting because they said it was a weather concern rather a COVID concern, even though we have gone to school in worse conditions,” said sophomore Elise Schnieder. 

         A lot of students used this time to catch up on work, relax, and take a break mid-week.

 “I didn’t mind having a day off. I was able to relax and I had a lot of time to catch up on things” said Ian Flores. 

  Along with being able to catch up on work, many found it beneficial to stay home because of the lack of teachers.

          “With the high absentee rate of teachers, we could have well ended up with an auditorium full of students, so as silly as it sounds, I think it was the best idea,” said teacher Mr. Van Slycke. 

         Even the students residing in the office agreed that it was of best interest to stay home to avoid the possibility of no teachers. 

         “Because with no teachers to teach, what are we going to do?,” said senior Marcus De Soto. The rest of his office peers agreed. 

         Many Madison Mavericks were grateful to have a surprise break, making their week even shorter.