In February, as the snow melts and the sun starts peeking through mountains, Cascade High School students are getting ready for mid-winter break. Mid-winter break is a weeklong vacations from school between the 19th through the 26th of February this year. Students often go on small vacations throughout the country during this time.
Not all schools have a mid-winter break, so CHS is fortunate. CHS mid-winter break came to be due to how well sports were doing, but also to help teachers with their possible side jobs. Back when CHS was at its starting roots, many teachers were married to owners who had businesses downtown. They would not have much of a vacation due to Christmas break always being so busy, so they pushed for a break during the slow time for Leavenworth.
Another reason was because of how well CHS sports were doing. The basketball tournament use to be around February on a four-day weekend.
Longtime math teacher Bill Davies fondly remembers CHS tournament days: “Basketball would start on a Wednesday or Thursday night when the kids were playing basketball and almost all the school was gone. Teachers couldn't because we were contracted to be here. We would have three or four kids in class. Everyone else would be in Tacoma watching basketball.”
Thanks to our CHS teachers and sports, students enjoyed a short vacation in February. After winter break, students start counting the days for mid-winter break. During the break, some plan vacations with family or friends, athletes are getting ready for spring sports, others are working or scouting colleges options. While others are relaxing and taking advantage of sleeping in, some students are quite busy. As the class of 2025 is coming to the end of their junior year, they are thinking about their plans after high school, possibly looking into programs, scholarships, or career options.
Jackson Feeney (11) is preparing for his future this mid-winter break by visiting colleges around the area: “This mid-winter break I'm going to go with my dad down through Seattle, possibly down to Oregon for sure through Portland. So I might look at Portland University. I'm just looking at colleges that are around there; might go look at Oregon State University. There's no specific one I really want to go to. I'm just trying to find which one attracts me; see which campus fits my vibe and see what they have to offer.”
Along with being academically productive, students are also working during this time. Leavenworth is not as busy around the month of February, but students are still working any chance they get. They possibly may be working their whole week off without a day off. Students try to get as many hours as they can during break since their school schedule affects how much they can work.
Natalie Montesinos (9) expresses how she feels about working during her time off: “They already made our schedule and I work the whole week; I have to wake up early and it's going to be busy this upcoming week, but at least I'll be making money. “
After mid-winter break spring sports are going to be starting! After the cold winter, students and parents are getting ready for the sun to come up and prepare for spring sports. Students are thinking about how their sport is going to fit into their schedule and how it might affect their schooling. They not only have to worry about how their time might be affected, but also what they must do to get in shape for practices. Doing workouts to help their body adjust to the hard work that is about to come, but also to avoid injuries.
Cruz Martinez (11) talks about what he is doing to prepare for another year of track: “What I do to prepare for track is I run a couple miles throughout the week just so I can get back to running [be]cause I do wrestling, but that's a little bit different than running so I just do that to get my legs going. Along with that I also do a bit of weight room. Other than that I don't do much.”
Those who planned for a vacation spent their break enjoying their adventure. One exciting trip that has been talked about in Mr. Davies's room was his trip to San Diego. Mr. Davies and Kikkan Brine (10), and Jewel Leroy (10) visited sunny San Diego for a trip to Legoland. They are getting ready to leave the cold and enjoy the sun. In addition to visiting Legoland they also went to Davies’s son, and CHS alumnus, Landon for his acapella competition.
Kikkan Brine explained her excitement for the trip, "I'm going to California with my family to watch my brother sing in an acapella competition, like Pitch Perfect. We're also visiting Legoland, which I'm excited about. I'm a big Lego fan and have always built them since I was little.”
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