Winter Is Coming…Is Here

The Alzar School campus has been transformed with our first dusting of snow! With the weather forecast stating cold and snowy conditions for the next week, it’s safe to say that our white winter blanket is here to stay. In reaction to the change in season, students and staff are making noticeable adjustments to their daily routines.

Jogging students now slow to a cautious walk as they cross a snow-packed section of road during PE class, flip flops have been swapped with snow boots and snow shovels lean against the sides of each yurt. While all are making immediate adjustments, a lot of work goes into preparing our campus for the winter months ahead. Our facilities director, Mick, has worked tirelessly to put our campus grounds to bed. He has cleared sprinkler lines, trimmed landscaping, stored patio furniture and taken down some of the outdoor classrooms. Our snow removal equipment is primed and the woodpile stacked high. Students also play a role in maintaining campus during the snowy months with tasks like stocking firewood bins with chopped wood and shoveling snow from their yurt porches.

While winter brings more work to keep our school functioning in the cold Idaho climate, the snow also brings new and fun opportunities for students to explore and play outside. Alzar School’s fleet of snowshoes enable students to still tromp around our 102-acre campus, snow tubes make for never-ending fun sliding down hillsides and our Campus Green serves as an art gallery for snow sculptures, men and angle imprints. It is even the arena for an occasionally friendly snowball fight! Students have been thrilled and delighted at the sight of flakes falling. For some, this is the first time they have lived in a place with such a drastic shift in seasons and for all of us, the snow provides the chance to play on and revel in the beauty of a wintery version of our Alzar School campus.