Will your kids be attending 6/22-6/25?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary school teacher. My kids (grades 9, 6, 3) will go if they want to, which will probably depend on what their friends are doing. In my class, I'll do what I did last year for those two half-days. I'm going to provide a safe, fun environment for my kindergarten students where they will have access to play centers, their friends, the playground, and probably read a story or two. But I'll also be packing up my classroom at the same time. I was transparent with parents about the plan and made sure they knew their children would have a couple of nice, fun days if they came to school. But if parents already had travel plans or paid for camps, there was no reason to forgo those things for school.

I appreciate how you are planning to handle and communicate about the situation. That is very thoughtful and kind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Your science teachers do experiments? Nice, ours don’t. Must be a w school.

[Anonymous]

No we have a trip planned with family already. Also my child does not do well with unstructured or less structured time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

IF you want to prioritize your kids' jobs, camps, internships and sports over them actually get an education with the 180 required days, that's your opinion. I disagree. Start earlier in August, and let's have a calendar that MCPS can actually stick to in the years to come instead of this chaos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

IF you want to prioritize your kids' jobs, camps, internships and sports over them actually get an education with the 180 required days, that's your opinion. I disagree. Start earlier in August, and let's have a calendar that MCPS can actually stick to in the years to come instead of this chaos.

This. And it would be way better for AP classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

IF you want to prioritize your kids' jobs, camps, internships and sports over them actually get an education with the 180 required days, that's your opinion. I disagree. Start earlier in August, and let's have a calendar that MCPS can actually stick to in the years to come instead of this chaos.

DP but it’s not an either/or. I would rather preserve a week of summer but trim some of the other days like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (could be half day instead of full day off), grading/planning could be half days instead of full, etc. and have virtual as a tool as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Your science teachers do experiments? Nice, ours don’t. Must be a w school.

What school is that? Experiments are part of the standard MCPS MS/HS curriculum from what I see from my kid's syllabus. Maybe your kid doesn't tell you these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

Which is another reason why an August start would be better for HS. They need to be back 8/10 if they do a fall sport. Starting school earlier wouldn’t move that back — that date is set by the state or region so that we can align with the final championships for those sports.

There’s also an advantage for younger kids to starting in August — when my kids were little it was really hard to find camps for th end of August because all the college kids that staff those camps are already back in school.

The only one that benefits from our late start is the eastern shore rental owners and maybe the deep creek rental owners. They can’t easily shift their season earlier because the water is warm enough in late May and early June. But it’s a little ridiculous that drives our educational policy.

[Anonymous]

Let's be real. The parents of kids who LOVE that we have an extra week and see teachers as glorified babysitters for their obnoxious kids don't go on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's be real. The parents of kids who LOVE that we have an extra week and see teachers as glorified babysitters for their obnoxious kids don't go on this thread.

You want to be “real?” Tell us more about your magical powers that allow you to discern who is posting on this thread and their motives. Maybe your doctor can explain them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does the last date for seniors change? If not that is 5 weeks early for them. What about senior teachers, what do they do for 5 weeks without students?

The kids in mixed classes generally don't do much after AP exams. It makes it hard when you have freshman to seniors in the same classes. Most senior teachers have some other kids mixed in and they just hang out. A rare few teachers teach.

Yeah it’s a hard sell to make them get up and go when they know the majority of their classes will just be doing nothing. If they were playing trivia games or doing fun experiments it would be easier. But I’d imagine the science teachers don’t have th budget to add on extra fun experiments for the end of the year anyway. And you can’t really do an experiment in the 20 minutes they give you. I hope the HS will at least do block scheduling do all those half days which would increase the odds the teachers will do anything. I think my kids would for the classes they like if the teachers said “we’re going to do …..” and it sounded intetesting or fun. Sometimes they do debates on stuff like — who was the best president — or pick your top three favorite chemical elements—or something like that which is moderately fun for the kids who liked the class at least. But you can’t really do it in 20 minute classes.

Yes, but that's true of the AP exam schedule in general. For HS students it would be much better to start school earlier in August and let them out earlier in June like many other districts in the South.

Or do what FCPS does and start 1 week earlier in June but build in a normal number of snow days (not just 1).

Not those of our kids with jobs, camps, internships and sports. It already starts early for sports.

IF you want to prioritize your kids' jobs, camps, internships and sports over them actually get an education with the 180 required days, that's your opinion. I disagree. Start earlier in August, and let's have a calendar that MCPS can actually stick to in the years to come instead of this chaos.

This. And it would be way better for AP classes

+1. It would be way better than this current schedule we have with tacking on late June half days. We had this same problem last year and nothing changed. Let’s learn from this year.

[Anonymous]

Flying out of town June 25. No plans to change dates.

[Anonymous]

Make the extended school days make-ups for high school students to keep protesting on ICE.