Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 20:12     Subject: Re:Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Our schools could not function without December vacation--staff and students would take off anyway--which is actually why we have it.

It is not a two week holiday--it is the fact that people go visit family during that time and take off--including staff.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 20:08     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Schools should not be off on religious holidays in the first place. If your family celebrates a religious holiday your kid should be allowed to stay home that day with an excused absence. They should not close the whole school system down so you can celebrate.

What happened to the separation of church and state in America?! If I wanted that, I would have stayed in my own country, not immigrated here.

Why do all the schools close on basically every religious holiday?!

That’s fine. Are you okay with getting rid of the week and half off around Christmas then?


Always with the Christmas. Seriously, give up.


Why? Diwali is 1 day and there is 1 day off from school - and I know that there are a few of those days. Christmas is 1 day and we get 10 days off, that 10x the amount for one day.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 20:03     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Schools should not be off on religious holidays in the first place. If your family celebrates a religious holiday your kid should be allowed to stay home that day with an excused absence. They should not close the whole school system down so you can celebrate.

What happened to the separation of church and state in America?! If I wanted that, I would have stayed in my own country, not immigrated here.

Why do all the schools close on basically every religious holiday?!

That’s fine. Are you okay with getting rid of the week and half off around Christmas then?


Always with the Christmas. Seriously, give up.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 19:36     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.


I mean I don't know why you're blaming Hindus for Diwali. We didn't ask for this day off, FCPS just gave it to us. Ask any Hindu family you know and they will tell you that they would much prefer their child to be in school on Diwali. I guarantee it.


DP.

I blame the school board - not parents - for the excess of student days off (call it what one wishes - teacher work days or whatever) - and I also would move spring break to the natural end of that quarter.

And I would not waste teacher time with silly training on a teacher work day - I would let teachers use that to grade assignments and plan.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 16:27     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:Schools should not be off on religious holidays in the first place. If your family celebrates a religious holiday your kid should be allowed to stay home that day with an excused absence. They should not close the whole school system down so you can celebrate.

What happened to the separation of church and state in America?! If I wanted that, I would have stayed in my own country, not immigrated here.

Why do all the schools close on basically every religious holiday?!

That’s fine. Are you okay with getting rid of the week and half off around Christmas then?
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 16:17     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.


They actually started that because there was a big fuss about giving people Good Friday off because it's a religious holiday. The idea was if SB was always the week before Easter, they didn't have to have the fight.
Just give GF off as a single day holiday then. Schools in other states are purely secular outside Christmas holiday break. In Georgia schools are closed the first full week of April and are open GF unless it happens to be the Friday of the 1st full week in April. Schools in Florida and Texas have spring break in mid or late March since they end in late May and may give GF off separately. No reason to tie spring break to GF.
Anonymous
Post 10/21/2025 13:41     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.


They actually started that because there was a big fuss about giving people Good Friday off because it's a religious holiday. The idea was if SB was always the week before Easter, they didn't have to have the fight.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 22:54     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
At least it fell on a Monday which allowed
for a long weekend mini break. Otherwise,
everywhere I went people asked “why is your DH out today?” Me: Diwali. Everyone: What’s that? Me: Indian holiday, involves, street parties and colorfully died flour being flung here, there and everywhere. Everyone: Yeah, okay? Never heard of it.

Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 22:17     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
I didn't mind having Diwali off. My kids got an extra day to catch up on homework overload. I also don't want spring break to be tied to Easter. I loved the one year when it wasn't and we could go on vacation without having to spend an arm and a leg and avoided all the crowds. Easter is a one day thing, I don't know who needs a whole week and I'd rather not have to travel around that time.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 21:56     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.


I mean I don't know why you're blaming Hindus for Diwali. We didn't ask for this day off, FCPS just gave it to us. Ask any Hindu family you know and they will tell you that they would much prefer their child to be in school on Diwali. I guarantee it.


I'll add in that we are not the ones taking our kids out of school on our religious holidays. Some religions do it, but we do not.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 21:55     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.


I mean I don't know why you're blaming Hindus for Diwali. We didn't ask for this day off, FCPS just gave it to us. Ask any Hindu family you know and they will tell you that they would much prefer their child to be in school on Diwali. I guarantee it.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 18:52     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
My family doesn't celebrate Diwali but we did celebrate this day where our MS and HS kids could catch up on work and study for all the summative assignments/tests scheduled before the end of the quarter. Totally fine with this day off from school: win-win for those who celebrate and those who know how to use their "free" time wisely.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 18:16     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Why are we off again next week?


November has the lowest number of school days of any full month of school - 14!

Even December (Winter Break) and April (Spring Break) have more school days.

How screwed up is this school calendar?


Since it has the legally required number of instructional hours, it is not screwed up at all.


Legal requirement is total garbage.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 17:29     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


The O days where we couldn’t teach new material were the worst. They counted as a school day but I couldn’t do anything. That was the only year I didn’t finish my AP curriculum.

Once SOLs are moved to the last two weeks of school, the argument about wasted days in June is no longer valid too.


They are completely valid, because high school AP exams are in May, college programs mostly start in June, and mid May to late ajune is just wasted time and will still be wasted time even if SOLs were in June.
Anonymous
Post 10/20/2025 17:27     Subject: Why did FCPS screw up on Diwali?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought this was why they created 0 days, so kids who want to take off the day to celebrate a religious holiday wouldn't miss any new material at school. The way they're doing the calendar these days makes no sense at all.


We should also not have an easter "spring" break.


Yes, the practicing Christians and Catholics agree that spring break should not be Easter Holy Week.

Unfortunately, every school district in northern Virginia schedules spring break during Holy Week, so when FCPS tried to move it away from Holy Week, it caused a lot of childcare issues for teachers and staff who live in other counties.

Don't blame the Christians for spring break being on Holy Week. We would prefer it to fall away from Holy Week and just be scheduled at the end of the quarter.