As many students might have noticed on Monday, Howard County schools returned from winter break, while most other continued theirs. Some people might have also noticed that most schools and businesses because Monday, January 2 was the federal observance of the New Year. So why did Howard County go back to work on Monday while most others slept in that day? Apparently, teachers pushed for school on Monday because due to the schedule structure, school would end on Monday, June 11. Therefore, to end school on Friday, June 8, teachers pushed to have Monday as a school day to replace that day. Unfortunately, due to Hurricane Irene at the beginning of the year, which cancelled the first day of school for Howard County schools (even longer in some counties), the last day of school fell on Monday, June 11 anyway. If that is not painfully ironic enough, Superintendent Sydney Cousins and most Howard County officials apparently had Monday off. While the attempt to prevent school from dragging on one day into the week of June 11 is a noble cause, it’s pretty safe to assume that many students would have probably preferred an extra day added to an already short break to relax and enjoy some time off. On the brighter side, ending on a Monday is not so bad. The extra time will give students two more days to study for their finals on that day, and Howard County will still release students bit earlier than last year.