It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Sure, it’s 65 degrees, and anyone searching would be sorely dissapointed to find nary a chestnut roasting on an open fire, but nonetheless we are only days away from Christmas and even earlier, the start of vacation!

Exciting as these dwindling hours may be, they are cause for pause, when you realize that there are a scant three days between vacation and the actual holiday which so many of us celebrate, Christmas. It feels unnatural, especially when you consider that the 22nd of December is not a Friday or something, thus making it a natural end to the school week; it’s a Tuesday.

Why can’t we get just two days more off? A buffer period would be useful. In addition to making the winter break end on the more chronologically pleasing Friday on the 18th of December, it would provide in an invaluable buffer, allowing people to get out of the school mindset, and get into the Holiday spirit, help their family to prepare for the coming festivities, or get on the road to meet friends and family in other states.

The reason that people will give for why the vacation must begin so late as compared to the date of Christmas is because we have to make a sacrifice of days when it comes to our mid-year vacation in order to keep summer vacation long. But is that really better from a student standpoint or, more importantly, prudent from a grade perspective?

The answer would seem to be a resounding “no.” It is an oft-discussed phenomenan how students lose a massive amount of knowledge over the three long months of summer vacation. With so long away, people can forget exactly what they learned in school.

Cutting down on summer may seem like a hefty price, but if the reward is more rewarding yet shorter breaks and better academics, I would say it is well worth it.

Disclaimer: Articles designated as “Editorial” represent the views and opinions of the author, not the 2015-2016 Periscope staff, CHS Administration, or the CHS student body.