Everybody looks forward to the school year’s breaks .The week of fall and spring, the two weeks of winter, and then finally, the glorious two months of summer. However, contrary to popular belief, students are not the only ones who count down the days till they have school off. Teachers also have exciting vacations and long, lazy days when school is not in session.
Many teachers spend their breaks indulging in their passions.
“My Thanksgiving break was great. In the free time that I had, I spent a lot of time in the woodshop,” said Kenneth Toma, CHHS AP World History and AP Computer Science Principles teacher. “Just making random things. I made a shelf, and Christmas gifts for my family and friends.”
Other teachers have spent the recent holiday breaks working on their personal lives.
“This past summer I’ve tried to take a lot of classes,” said chemistry teacher David Lee. “As teachers, your payscale can go up based on how many grad school units you have, so I was trying to take more classes to raise my payscale.”
Like students and their families, teachers always love when they get to use their time off to go on a nice vacation, especially during summer time.
“The most special vacation I’ve had with my whole family was to Greece,” said John Turner, CHHS AP US Government & Politics and AP Psychology teacher. “My wife’s from Greece, so being able to not only travel through Greece but, since she has relatives there, make it a relative family trip and not just a tourist trip…that was definitely special.”
They also love to take the weeks to relax and enjoy time away from campus.
“I got to sleep later than normal,” said Turner. “I got to listen to way more music than I normally do, and read more books.”
Most importantly, teachers take the holidays to prioritize family time, especially when they don’t get the opportunity to during the school year.
“Every day [over winter break] we either did something with my wife’s family or my friends,” said Toma.
With the second semester beginning, we now only have one school break to look forward to before summer vacation. But teachers still have exciting plans ahead.
“I think I’m doing some engagement/wedding photos over spring break,” said Lee. “And over summer break I’m gonna get married, so that’s exciting. Still lots of planning to do.”
Teaching may be a lifelong passion for many of our teachers at Canyon Hills, but they enjoy the breaks as much as students do.
“I think for all teachers and students alike, we are looking forward to our breaks,” said Lee. “As much as we love our job, and I’m sure as much as students love learning, the breaks are very needed and appreciated.”
