On April 6, the students at Pascack Hills High School were conducting a school day during spring break – online. After exceeding the number of free snow days, Hills had to remove the Friday from the first week of April and turn it into a virtual day.

The school day was shortened to a half-day from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., and students had the option of either attending school physically or finishing their work online. They had the freedom complete their assignments in any order they felt was most effective. The catch to virtual day is that students can only complete and submit their assignments between 8-12. The attendance for virtual day was based off submissions of assignment to notify teachers that students worked on their assignment. But, if a student does not submit the class’s assignment before 12, he or she will be marked absent for that class.

Overall, students’ and teachers’ attitude towards virtual day was positive. Students behaved fairly towards the idea of a virtual day and were able to complete the assignments and discussions far away from school.

“Students are buying into it,” Deborah Horn said to PIX 11 news. “Whereas everyone would wish there wasn’t a snow day and we had off today, I think kids understand the purpose of today. And so far I’ve gotten really good participation.”

Since virtual day is an annual day, the school administration always like to hear feedback about the successes and improvements for the online school day.

Sophomore Gabriel Broadman said, “I believe we should have a space for virtual day each year because it’s better to have the option to not come and allows us to have more room for snow days if we need to.”

While the Pascack Valley Regional High School District had a “virtual day,” other districts require their students to come to school for classes or add extra days to the end of the school year. The idea of virtual day was a smart and efficient move that made up for lost time and helped traveling students get on track with their studies.