As many of you know, Fairfax County didn’t always used to have two-week winter breaks. But in recent years, they have extended it to accommodate for family travels, holidays, and give not only students but teachers a much needed break. In light of the two-week break, many families traveled to visit family or explore a new place. Whether it be international travel or domestic, it is a trend that many cannot refuse.

Julia O’toole(12), her parents, four brothers, and boyfriend decided to go to a new place this year, Park City, Utah. “ We usually go to Canada or Colorado for skiing so we wanted to try some place new and heard great things about Park City,” said O’toole. While in Park City, they made sure to enjoy every aspect of the town including: skiing, ice skating, shopping,etc. They were there over the course of a week and skied everyday while they were there. “If you don’t mind the cold and you love to ski and/or snowboard I would definitely recommend going there. I would definitely go back next year if I could because it was so fun and I could try different runs on a different side of the mountain.” said O’toole.

While many families enjoy skiing or winter activities over break, some go the opposite way and go south. Tagwa Shammet(11) and her younger sister, Amal Shammet(9) went to Sudan to visit their mother among many other relatives. “I’ve lived in Sudan and have gone back every summer and winter. I am immensely proud to be Sudanese and go back every chance I get,” said Tagwa Shammet. Both the Shammet’s enjoyed their trip but it did have its stressful points as does any trip with family. “Traveling alone is stressful but traveling internationally with different connections in different countries was extremely stressful. Also my mom’s cousin was getting married and I was one of her bridesmaids so it was really stressful trying to keep up with all the people and making sure the bride was as happy as possible,” said Tagwa Shammet. ‘I’ve lived in Sudan and have gone back every summer and winter. I am immensely proud to be Sudanese and go back every chance I get,” said Tagwa Shammet.

The goal of winter break is to give students a break close to the middle of the year. It usually aligns with major holidays such as Hanukkah and Christmas. In the recent years they have extended winter break to two weeks which now includes having New Years Eve and New Years day off.  Although this decision was controversial among teachers and parents, most students agree that the extra week makes all the difference and caters to vacations.