Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

What has changed about middle and high schoolers that they can't handle 5 day weeks anymore? They sure seem to need a lot of breaks. The teens and twenties are the time to work really hard when you have the energy. If you play your cards right, by your thirties you can have choices that give you flexibility and freedom that have been earned.

It’s a well known fact that adolescents need more sleep. The 7:30 am start time is brutal for the middle schoolers. Any extra chance to sleep in is a blessing. High schoolers start a bit later, but the work load with honors and AP classes is staggering. With after school activities and what not, the time these kids get to start on their homework is late, which makes them have to stay up and be tired and the cycle continues. High schoolers get a ton of work and it’s hard.

Elementary school work is a joke. Do you have a middle schooler or a high schooler? When you go, get back to me. The random days off are a lifesaver.

This is such a small number of kids. Not all high schoolers take 6 AAP courses. Many do not take one. Life is not fair, but young children need consistence and repetition and a reliable schedule. It is Soooooo confusing for them. I have one in each school, and prop for high school do not outweigh the massive cons for the younger children. Also middle school still does not count on permanent record so take a day off if needed.

It’s not about taking 6 AP courses at once. Anyone who wants to be competitive for an in state school in VA needs to be taking AP and honors courses. The amount of homework they get is a lot. They are exhuasted by the end of the week. A 4 day week is a breather for them to stay afloat sometimes.

Little Johnny in 3rd grade is resilient and will be ok. He doesn’t need to be at Art class or Music class or at an assembly trying to get kids to sell wrapping paper. He can do some workbooks at home.

I am willing to negotiate. So long as the day off falls on a Monday or Friday, I’m fine with the 4 day weeks. It’s when the day off falls on a Tuesday that it’s disruptive.

Some of the religious holidays fall in the middle of the week unfortunately. We can’t do anything about that.

Anonymous wrote:Just end it after the SOL TEST is not like they do anything. They had 5 SNOW Day + 2 election day =7+5 days early =12 SNOW DAYS

In high schools they have something called finals and it’s always the last week before school is out.

Just end it after the SOL TEST is not like they do anything. They had 5 SNOW Day + 2 election day =7+5 days early =12 SNOW DAYS

WHY not closed the week of Memorial DAY?

Ending June 12th would be amazing

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a reason that ONLY ES schools get 3 hrs releases?
I get planning days, IEP mtgs, whatever, but what about MS and HS teachers???
Are they not privy to 3 hr releases?

In theory, MS and, especially, HS teachers' work load is heavier, courses they reach are more intense, (in HS) college-bound students need xyz from them, multi-page essays and FRQs, grading science fair binders, and the list goes on...

HS is more important curriculum wise so they can’t afford to lose the 3 hours. There is too much at stake.

In addition, HS and MS teachers get more planning on a daily basis than elementary school teachers and they only have one subject to teach. They get one full period of planning daily (85-90 minutes) and another period is advisory/Flex Time.

Elementary school teachers need more planning time than they are currently getting.

While MS and HS teachers might only teach one subject, they certainly do not only have one prep. A math teacher might teach two sections of Algebra II, one section of Pre-Calculus, and two sections of AP Computer Science. An English teacher might have three sections of AP Lang, one section of English 10, and one section of English 11.

Advisory is not additional planning time. In fact, it can be an additional prep. Instead of three preps, the teacher could have four if you include the extra work that Advisory can be.

It's funny that you think MS and HS teachers have 85-90 minutes of planning per day. That time is almost always taken up by CT meetings, IEP meetings, and 504 meetings. I consider myself lucky if I get 120 minutes of actual planning time per week. Those are the good weeks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From Melanie Meren's FB page, there is a good discussion about her upcoming motion on April 10th to limit ERs to four times a year and nd designate Veterans Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day as instructional days. These changes would provide at least two additional full school weeks for families this fall. Progress!

There is a sub-discussion going on underneath. Loudoun just moved their last day of school up to Friday, June 12th to prioritize a cleaner ending to the school year and add 5 days (including the weekend) to summer. Lots of support in this discussion, especially given we began school on the same date.

Melanie Meren has expressed support for this on her facebook page and said that she would raise it. If you are in support, please contact your school board member.

Nobody is changing this year's calendar and likely also not next year's calendar, which has already been released. You can lobby for this to occur in future years, but nobody is changing calendars that already exist.

Why not? Nobody has spring break plans for 2027 or later yet. Moving spring break to always be after the 3rd quarter and ending the year earlier in June makes logical sense!

Anonymous wrote:Just make the ES kids go late into June. They have missed more school than any others with their 3hr release days.
Parents will be happy bc they have 1 less week of camp to pay for .

They already do. The high schools pretty much have 1/2 days that week. Seniors are done. Most high school students are just hanging with friends or not showing up in June. Meanwhile, ES will be teaching terrible Benchmark through June and finishing SS/Science since the time allotted is a joke.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

What has changed about middle and high schoolers that they can't handle 5 day weeks anymore? They sure seem to need a lot of breaks. The teens and twenties are the time to work really hard when you have the energy. If you play your cards right, by your thirties you can have choices that give you flexibility and freedom that have been earned.

It’s a well known fact that adolescents need more sleep. The 7:30 am start time is brutal for the middle schoolers. Any extra chance to sleep in is a blessing. High schoolers start a bit later, but the work load with honors and AP classes is staggering. With after school activities and what not, the time these kids get to start on their homework is late, which makes them have to stay up and be tired and the cycle continues. High schoolers get a ton of work and it’s hard.

Elementary school work is a joke. Do you have a middle schooler or a high schooler? When you go, get back to me. The random days off are a lifesaver.

This is such a small number of kids. Not all high schoolers take 6 AAP courses. Many do not take one. Life is not fair, but young children need consistence and repetition and a reliable schedule. It is Soooooo confusing for them. I have one in each school, and prop for high school do not outweigh the massive cons for the younger children. Also middle school still does not count on permanent record so take a day off if needed.

It’s not about taking 6 AP courses at once. Anyone who wants to be competitive for an in state school in VA needs to be taking AP and honors courses. The amount of homework they get is a lot. They are exhuasted by the end of the week. A 4 day week is a breather for them to stay afloat sometimes.

Little Johnny in 3rd grade is resilient and will be ok. He doesn’t need to be at Art class or Music class or at an assembly trying to get kids to sell wrapping paper. He can do some workbooks at home.

I am willing to negotiate. So long as the day off falls on a Monday or Friday, I’m fine with the 4 day weeks. It’s when the day off falls on a Tuesday that it’s disruptive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

What has changed about middle and high schoolers that they can't handle 5 day weeks anymore? They sure seem to need a lot of breaks. The teens and twenties are the time to work really hard when you have the energy. If you play your cards right, by your thirties you can have choices that give you flexibility and freedom that have been earned.

It’s a well known fact that adolescents need more sleep. The 7:30 am start time is brutal for the middle schoolers. Any extra chance to sleep in is a blessing. High schoolers start a bit later, but the work load with honors and AP classes is staggering. With after school activities and what not, the time these kids get to start on their homework is late, which makes them have to stay up and be tired and the cycle continues. High schoolers get a ton of work and it’s hard.

Elementary school work is a joke. Do you have a middle schooler or a high schooler? When you go, get back to me. The random days off are a lifesaver.

This is such a small number of kids. Not all high schoolers take 6 AAP courses. Many do not take one. Life is not fair, but young children need consistence and repetition and a reliable schedule. It is Soooooo confusing for them. I have one in each school, and prop for high school do not outweigh the massive cons for the younger children. Also middle school still does not count on permanent record so take a day off if needed.

It’s not about taking 6 AP courses at once. Anyone who wants to be competitive for an in state school in VA needs to be taking AP and honors courses. The amount of homework they get is a lot. They are exhuasted by the end of the week. A 4 day week is a breather for them to stay afloat sometimes.

Little Johnny in 3rd grade is resilient and will be ok. He doesn’t need to be at Art class or Music class or at an assembly trying to get kids to sell wrapping paper. He can do some workbooks at home.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a reason that ONLY ES schools get 3 hrs releases?
I get planning days, IEP mtgs, whatever, but what about MS and HS teachers???
Are they not privy to 3 hr releases?

In theory, MS and, especially, HS teachers' work load is heavier, courses they reach are more intense, (in HS) college-bound students need xyz from them, multi-page essays and FRQs, grading science fair binders, and the list goes on...

HS is more important curriculum wise so they can’t afford to lose the 3 hours. There is too much at stake.

In addition, HS and MS teachers get more planning on a daily basis than elementary school teachers and they only have one subject to teach. They get one full period of planning daily (85-90 minutes) and another period is advisory/Flex Time.

Elementary school teachers need more planning time than they are currently getting.

But the high school grading load is HUGE and requires considerably more time than these teachers receive. It’s true they may get more time during the day, but how many multi-page essays can be graded in a 90 minute period? And when you have 140 of them?

Just make the ES kids go late into June. They have missed more school than any others with their 3hr release days.
Parents will be happy bc they have 1 less week of camp to pay for .

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

+100

Love the calendar this year

+102

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

What has changed about middle and high schoolers that they can't handle 5 day weeks anymore? They sure seem to need a lot of breaks. The teens and twenties are the time to work really hard when you have the energy. If you play your cards right, by your thirties you can have choices that give you flexibility and freedom that have been earned.

It’s a well known fact that adolescents need more sleep. The 7:30 am start time is brutal for the middle schoolers. Any extra chance to sleep in is a blessing. High schoolers start a bit later, but the work load with honors and AP classes is staggering. With after school activities and what not, the time these kids get to start on their homework is late, which makes them have to stay up and be tired and the cycle continues. High schoolers get a ton of work and it’s hard.

Elementary school work is a joke. Do you have a middle schooler or a high schooler? When you go, get back to me. The random days off are a lifesaver.

This is such a small number of kids. Not all high schoolers take 6 AAP courses. Many do not take one. Life is not fair, but young children need consistence and repetition and a reliable schedule. It is Soooooo confusing for them. I have one in each school, and prop for high school do not outweigh the massive cons for the younger children. Also middle school still does not count on permanent record so take a day off if needed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely not. We don’t want school on Columbus Day or Veterans Day.

Who is “we”?

Those days were gifts from God when my kids were in early elementary school. I got the day off and the kids went to school.
Even more important for parents who have to work those days.

We like the 4 day weeks. They help tremendously for our high schoolers and middle school kid.

+100

Love the calendar this year