Teaching is exhausting - there is so much to do and so much multi-tasking that goes on as we try to meet everyone’s needs. As a teacher I love having these extra days off. I use them to get a lot of planning done and it gives me some breathing room, so I’m not always running around desperately trying to keep up. There is certainly not enough time given to us to plan, but these various holidays are inadvertently helping. I’ve heard that teachers in some other countries are given much more time to plan than teachers in the U.S. are given. Planning and consulting with colleagues are so important, but we’re “on” so much of the time. We need more down time to plan and get things right.

LOL at the one parent that isn't happy to have their kids home for Diwali. Sorry for those kids!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

They’re being educated the same amount of time! If you are so worried about that, you should lobby for year-round school. So much brain drain after summer. A day here or there doesn’t matter. I’m not in a bubble. I’m talking about my school, my community, my county.

DP

Ok so lets agree that the number of educational hours in a year is the same under any system. Do kids learn more/better with a ton of random breaks, including mid school week or with regular 5 day weeks? There's studies with 4 day weeks but random days off?

How the heck is any working family supposed to be able to take care of kids on random days off?

. The calendar came out ages ago. This was not a surprise. There was plenty of time to plan.

Like plan school to be closed 1 to 2 days every other week? Sure, tons of nannies want to work only 1-2 days, every other week, with the days of the week changing.

Exactly. The calendar is now out literally years in advance. AND the number of school days is state mandated and observed, it's just that less days off are clustered in summer break. I wish people would stop freaking out and make a plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

They’re being educated the same amount of time! If you are so worried about that, you should lobby for year-round school. So much brain drain after summer. A day here or there doesn’t matter. I’m not in a bubble. I’m talking about my school, my community, my county.

DP

Ok so lets agree that the number of educational hours in a year is the same under any system. Do kids learn more/better with a ton of random breaks, including mid school week or with regular 5 day weeks? There's studies with 4 day weeks but random days off?

How the heck is any working family supposed to be able to take care of kids on random days off?

. The calendar came out ages ago. This was not a surprise. There was plenty of time to plan.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

They’re being educated the same amount of time! If you are so worried about that, you should lobby for year-round school. So much brain drain after summer. A day here or there doesn’t matter. I’m not in a bubble. I’m talking about my school, my community, my county.

DP

Ok so lets agree that the number of educational hours in a year is the same under any system. Do kids learn more/better with a ton of random breaks, including mid school week or with regular 5 day weeks? There's studies with 4 day weeks but random days off?

How the heck is any working family supposed to be able to take care of kids on random days off?

The problem isn't Diwali. It's one day. But yeah, FCPS being 3 to 4 days per week half the school year IS a freaking weird problem. Seems to be an administration problem, not Hindu, Christian, Muslim. I am sorry any working moms have to juggle that all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

They’re being educated the same amount of time! If you are so worried about that, you should lobby for year-round school. So much brain drain after summer. A day here or there doesn’t matter. I’m not in a bubble. I’m talking about my school, my community, my county.

DP

Ok so lets agree that the number of educational hours in a year is the same under any system. Do kids learn more/better with a ton of random breaks, including mid school week or with regular 5 day weeks? There's studies with 4 day weeks but random days off?

How the heck is any working family supposed to be able to take care of kids on random days off?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

They’re being educated the same amount of time! If you are so worried about that, you should lobby for year-round school. So much brain drain after summer. A day here or there doesn’t matter. I’m not in a bubble. I’m talking about my school, my community, my county.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

You should get our of your bubble. And educating students should take priority over being "inclusive*.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

+1 we are in MCPS and I don't think Diwali was even the reason for the day off on Monday but yes we were very happy about it and enjoyed observing the holiday.

I don't mind days off for other religious holidays either. My ES kid goes to aftercare or I take the day off if we want to do something.

I think there is probably a way to accommodate most cultural/religious holidays AND have kids in school for more five-day weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

There's lot of reasons to be angry about all the added days and not just Diwali in particular. I can't see so many days off being good for education in general, can't see how parents can afford to take days off from work or find childcare either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

What’s your point? I actually do believe people lobbied for it here after some other districts were off for Diwali. And good they did. A good portion of the Asian population here is South Asian, most of whom are Hindu. I love how inclusive Fairfax is and really cannot understand being angry about this. I really don’t hear about people upset about this in real life, just here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Every Hindu family I know is happy about it. I'm not Hindu myself, but our family also enjoys all these days off - nice to catch up on schoolwork and sleep. Our younger one can't stay home alone. We plan ahead with a few other families and it ends up being a fun day for them as well. I prefer a shorter summer. No downside for us. I'm happy for everyone to have whatever days off they want. I can't imagine getting upset about this.

+1 I don't know why there's some people here think they have the knowledge to speak for all families who celebrate Diwali. We're happy about having the holidays, just as we're happy that there are days off for Rosh Hashanah, Eid etc.

Right, but you didn't ask for the day off, did you? Like this day off did not stem from a group of people actively lobbying for it, it was just given to us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's not just Christmas, it's winter break. It just happens to fall the week before new years, which is a very common time for families to take a break. Many work places are closed. It's customary and not a big inconvenience.

But it's actually really bad timing because the end of the quarter is in January, and it gives kids this huge nonsense break right before finals. And no, NOBODY is studying during winter break, shut up.

Anyway like most workplaces, it would be fine to close the week of the 25th - 1st, but the extra week is unnecessary.

What schools systems have a one week winter break

Even a week is too long. Just make it two days for Christmas.

People will just take their children out of school anyway, and staff will quit for other jobs.

It works out fine actually.