On Monday morning at OHS, Dec. 1, a strange scene is set. The halls are hushed; huge quantities of teachers and students are absent; the bottom parking lot by the tennis courts is empty of cars.

What would have been the first normal day back at OHS from Thanksgiving break, the school disrupted by the sudden turn of the weather. A plunge in temperature left sheets of ice all over the streets. Because of the record highs of the day before, which reached a shocking 70 degrees, the Mehlville School District was taken by surprise.

Because some roads and even highways were shut down, getting to school was a struggle for many members of the staff and student body. Accidents up and down Telegraph caused traffic to build, making many teachers late; multiple classes had to crowd into the rooms of other teachers in order to have supervision during First Block. Tardies were not counted for the first fifteen minutes of school because of the conditions.

Some parents even chose to keep their students home or refused to let them drive, instead preferring to drive their kids to school themselves. Certain members of the district even complained to the superintendent and the central office, claiming that conditions were too dangerous to have school. Neighboring districts and schools, such as Lindbergh High School, cancelled school, and many were angry that the Mehlville School District did not follow suit.

Dr. Norm Ridder, the MSD Superintendent, sent out an apology on Dec. 2 announcing that he was sorry for the mistake he made.