Philadelphia schools reopen after Blizzard of 2016

MANAYUNK (WPVI) -- The kids went back to class Wednesday morning in Philadelphia.

At James Dobson Elementary School in Manayunk, the sidewalks were clear and treated, and the school was ready to welcome the students back.

"Are you excited to be back at school?" Action News asked 11-year-old Ava Augustine.

"No," she said.

It was hard to blame her, considering the last two days off were jam-packed with winter fun.

"We were going sledding," said Olivia Kelly from Manayunk.

"Having hot chocolate, sledding," said 7-year-old Alyssa Augustine.

"Just going sledding," said Colin Fisher from Roxborough, adding that he didn't have any homework during the snow days.

But Wednesday morning it was time to get back to work. Dobson's auxiliary principal, Marco Zanoni explained a lot of manpower went into readying the grounds while the students were enjoying their snow days.

"We have a wonderful buildings engineer who has probably has been soaking in a bathtub every evening since this started," he said. "They've worked relentlessly, tirelessly."

As far as the trip in Wednesday morning, parents told Action News they didn't hit any major problems, though it still is messy in spots.

"Sometimes the side streets are a little messed up," said Nick Monteleone, "but the main roads are pretty good."

"You have to allow a lot of extra time because the streets in Roxborough and Manayunk are really narrow," said Kirsten Augustine of Roxborough. "There's really no place to pull over."

"They did a great job plowing," said Angela Kelly of Manayunk. "Of course they plow most people in, but as far as the roads concerned they did a really good job."

Even though some melting was going on during the day, the kids were still hoping to find time to play in the snow when school let out Wednesday afternoon.