Ipswich is one of many towns in New England that has been struggling with enormous amounts of snow. This late blooming winter has been one of the worst on record. Ipswich alone has had more than 100 inches since the last week in January. The town is reeling under the impact, and one of the most affected buildings is the Ipswich High/ Middle School.

After six snow days, and a month without a full week of school, the superintendent, Dr. Hart has made a series of decisions based on the safety of the students. “When I talk to retired superintendents, the thing that they all consistently say is that they do not miss snow day decisions.”  He went on to say, “there is always significant second guessing during a snowstorm. But that is just part of the job.”

Luckily for the students at Ipswich, because of our early release date, the school year has only been extended to June 23rd, which gives us a few days left in June before an alternative option will be talked about. Angus Mauser, an Ipswich High senior says, “The snow is very annoying, and it causes a lot of problems.” Angus went on to tell a story about how he had to park in the Spa-tec parking lot for two days in a row because of the snow pile-ups. Although the snow has been a problem, and has affected Angus, he is very glad to be a senior as he will get out of school, regardless of the snow, on May 19th.

As the students continue to get creative with parking, Dr. Hart has answered us that he is continuing to work with the district facilities director to improve parking to the best of their abilities. The problem is not the amount of snow, but where to put the snow. The beach parking lot has been filled beyond its limit, and so a lot of the snow in the school lot has just been left there to melt.

Winter problems have not been isolated to just snow accumulation. During February  break a pipe burst in a class room up stairs; this leak poured into other classrooms as well as in to the hallways near the nurse and guidance offices. Similar water problems have been occurring throughout the music wing, as there are several leaks in other places.

Another Concern relating to the snow as we get closer to spring is the impact on spring sports. According to Ipswich High School’s tennis coach John Tracy, teams are going to have delayed seasons, are going to be forced to have games on both weekend days, and are going to have to play at neutral venues depending on the home team’s field conditions. As for the tennis team, a lot of shoveling is in their future.

The extreme winter weather has also caused the formation of a 4 foot wide, two story long icicle which is hanging off of the side of the school. The ice that has built up has school officials concerned that more leaks, and even more damage, might be forthcoming in the very near future. As spring approaches we are looking forward to some warmer weather, just not too warm, too soon.