Every year, Middleton High School (MHS) students await the ten day break that encompasses the winter holidays and the start of the new year. This year, winter break has been extended to a lengthy two weeks, bringing a surprise to students and families alike. The two week break will allow students to have more time for celebration and spending time with their loved ones.

Many still wonder what caused this change.? The answer lies with the school board. The schedule for each school year is based on a two-year calendar. Every two years, the school board drafts a new schedule for the school year. Sherri Cyra, the deputy superintendent of the school board, is credited with coming up with the idea for a two-week break. 

“Typically, we have held classes through approximately December 22nd and returned from winter break on January 2nd. As the 2024-25 lays out, we would have returned from winter break on a Thursday; and in 2025-26, December 22 (2025) is a Monday and January 2 [2026] is a Friday,” Cyra said.

This situation would have resulted in one day school weeks before and after the break in the 2025-2026 academic year, creating a broken up schedule that causes discordance instead of relaxation. Increasing the length of the break became the clearly better option.

“While we haven’t typically run a two-week winter break, I developed an option with a two-week winter break that eliminated returning for one or two days the first week of January (or last in December). When we surveyed staff, there was a preference for the options with the two-week winter break.” Cyra said.

This option will make the transition back to school more seamless by returning to a five-day school week. It will also supply more of a well-needed break to students in all stages of their educational journey in the Middleton Cross Plains Area School District. In the end, the shift to a longer winter break will eliminate unnecessary shorter weeks while giving students and staff longer periods of relaxation.