High school students wait anxiously every winter for a snow day off to spend sledding, making snowmen, or watching movies under cozy blankets with friends and family.

At this time, JC has only had one two-hour delay, and that was back in December before Winter Break. Additionally, Harford County Public Schools has closed once for impending ice, but JC was already on break. That closure did not affect JC.

When snow is in the forecast, the general school community waits for news for school closures or delays. The John Carroll School follows the decisions for Harford County Public Schools.

HCPS officials monitor the weather forecast and road conditions in order to make the decision as to whether or not it will be safe to have school. With some impending weather, officials give a night’s notice to community. Once HCPS makes a decision to close or delay, John Carroll informs its students, faculty, and staff.

While HCPS makes the closure or delay decision, things still happen on JC’s end.

Facilities Manager Joe McGrain is one of the staff members who is on campus when it snows or has icy conditions.

If snow is in the forecast, they will continue to monitor it. If it comes to the point of school cancellation, Mr. McGrain and his crew will begin the snow day process.

Mr. McGrain said, “Before winter even comes, we get a few salt pallets to be prepared. We also put plows on the machines and pretreat the sidewalks and roads for ice.”

If school ends up being canceled, Mr. McGrain and his crew will still be present on campus. “We will still be here to plow, salt and clean up the campus,” he commented.

If there is a two-hour delay, they will arrive at 5 or 6 am to begin the process of making the driveway and parking lots safe.

Driving with snow or ice on the ground can be very dangerous, especially for high school student drivers. Fortunately, Mr. McGrain and his crew work towards making John Carroll a safe environment for the students and faculty by plowing parking lots and salting the sidewalks.

This year has not seen the typical Maryland winter so far. In January, BWI Airport officially registered a total of .2 inches of measurable snow, and February has not seen any snow yet.

With everything that goes on behind the scenes, it is all very organized. Everyone involved works together to complete the snow day process with little to no problems.