A self-day is a mandatory day, one per semester that you must not go to school. You can use your self-day on any school day, as long as it isn’t a scheduled assessment day. One mandatory self-day per semester should be allowed in all schools, especially Brearley. A self-day gives you a break in your routine when you need it most. Often, Brearley girls have extremely busy lives between schoolwork and after-school activities. This intensity is compounded by the hustle and bustle of New York City, with taxis speeding by, making a yellow and black blur. Rather than have a melt down or burn out, a self-day is needed to recharge our mental batteries. Since you only have two self-days a school year, this recommendation helps girls learn time management and planning. If you only have one self-day per semester, you will need to think about when you are most likely to want or need a self-day. Taking it too early in the year or waiting until the end might not be the best idea. A self-day allows girls to pursue special interests or once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Examples of self-day possibilities are: spending the day with a visiting out-of-town relative, going to a museum exhibit or to a Broadway matinée. A self-day might also be used to allow a student who may have fallen behind to catch up on schoolwork and assignments. Rather than get chronically behind or overwhelmed by too much work, you can use a self-day to catch up. Those against this proposal will focus on the girls missing valuable class time, sports and clubs. When you miss class time to take your self-day, it is no different from when there is a flu epidemic and people miss school because they are sick. The time that you spend out of school when you are sick might be more than the two days a year you take your self-days on. The lessons that are learned from your self-days are of greater importance than missing two days of school a year. Others might claim that in families where both parents work, those parents don’t have anybody to supervise their child during their self-day. For families who can’t afford to supervise during their child’s self-day, that child could stay in the school library or at a friend’s house whose family could be around. Self-days give you time to pursue special interests, to review materials, to take a break from your routine, and to learn time management and prioritization. A mandatory self-day per semester should be allowed in all schools, especially Brearley. If you have lots of stress, take a self-day. If you need a break, take a self-day. If you have a special interest, take a self-day. If you need to work on a big project, take a self-day. If you are sleep deprived, take a self-day. If you need to train for your sport, take a self-day. Having self-days can give each and every student right here right now two terrific times a year to think of only yourself. Come sign the self-day petition. If we get enough signatures we can make this happen.