Unlike thousands of other Minnesota students, Katie Segner had to go to school on Monday.
Or more precisely, the senior at Benilde-St. Margaret's in St. Louis Park had to check in with her teachers online, complete several homework assignments and trade e-mails with classmates in a study group.
"I did take the luxury of sleeping in, then jumped right to it," she said.
Many districts in the state, including Anoka-Hennepin, St. Paul and Minneapolis, canceled school again for Tuesday, when early-morning windchills were expected to hit 40 below once more. It is the fifth day classes have been canceled during this harsh month and educators are worried about how learning might be affected. Including weekends and holidays, students have spent as much time at home as they have in school for the month of January.
Trying to find a partial solution, Benilde administrators took the unusual step of requiring students to complete all of their classes online Monday and Tuesday.
It's not a move that every school could make — all Benilde students have school-issued MacBook Airs and universal Internet access — but it's a good example of how some schools are trying to keep students engaged when dangerously cold weather cancels classes.
Simply put, the novelty of days off because of the cold has worn off.
"At this point, it's about doing what we can to protect instruction time," said Benilde high school Principal Sue Skinner.