The third quarter has been extended to April 8th due to snow day cancellations.

Originally, third quarter was to end March 23th for students, the day before spring break. But after six snow days and plus other delayed openings, county officials decided to add five school days to the quarter.

“The rationale was because of the school closings,” assistant principal Jerome Easton said. “It had a lot to do with lack of time for instruction.”

Students have mixed reactions about the decision: some students believe that it will provide them an opportunity to raise their grades while others worry that they will only accumulate more homework during spring break.

“The break is meant to be a time to relax, and of course as a junior I’m annoyed,” junior Ryan Nordheimer said.

Counselors have been under a stress during the course registration period, a some believe that shorter fourth quarter will magnify these stresses.

“We had a lot to do at once, but it’s over now and we just want to move on,” guidance counselor Kenneth Putt said.

Many teachers will have to reconfigure their course schedules and decide how to fill the extra days in the marking period.

“I think it is a good thing to allow students to get a few more grades,” math teacher Stephen Hays said.

The few extra days will also grant teachers more time for third quarter grading, Hays added.

The added days were needed to allow students to cover the full extent of material that will be on cumulative AP and county exams, Jerome Easton said.

“Teachers were not able to satisfactorily get through the curriculum,” Easton said. “Students lost instruction, and that needed to be addressed.”