Anonymous
10/22/2020 22:46
Subject: Re:APS 2021-2022 CALENDAR CHANGES
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is complete B.S. There should not be any religious holidays on the calendar, period, except for Christmas which is a federal holiday, major secular holiday AND happens to land during the semester break. I do not care one iota whether or not Spring break is tied to Easter. August 23 is the height of summer and ridiculously early for those of us who support a post-Labor Day start.
Christmas is a major secular holiday? Um, no it is not. It is a major Christian holiday. And the height of summer is July, not the end of August.
Christmas = Santa = commercial = secular
Birth of Christ = religious
The ultra religious people we know don’t actually celebrate commercial Xmas
Ok, so Christians can celebrate Christmas in a non-religious way. It is still a religious holiday, it is not a secular holiday like Thanksgiving or Fourth of July.
We aren't Christian and we "celebrate" Christmas. Gifts, Elf on the Shelf, trees, cookies, etc. Not a speck of religion involved.
Cool story. Still not a secular holiday.
Christmas is secular. The Birth of Christ is religious.
Anonymous
10/22/2020 22:24
Subject: Re:APS 2021-2022 CALENDAR CHANGES
The school year is already too long and most of the first two weeks and the last month is garbage time as it is. Start the school year after Labor Day, end it in early to mid June and add in whichever new holidays the county wants. Set aside some time either at the beginning or at the end of the year for remedial work for those that are failing.
Anonymous
10/22/2020 18:32
Subject: Re:APS 2021-2022 CALENDAR CHANGES
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:This is complete B.S. There should not be any religious holidays on the calendar, period, except for Christmas which is a federal holiday, major secular holiday AND happens to land during the semester break. I do not care one iota whether or not Spring break is tied to Easter. August 23 is the height of summer and ridiculously early for those of us who support a post-Labor Day start.
Christmas is a major secular holiday? Um, no it is not. It is a major Christian holiday. And the height of summer is July, not the end of August.
Christmas = Santa = commercial = secular
Birth of Christ = religious
The ultra religious people we know don’t actually celebrate commercial Xmas
Ok, so Christians can celebrate Christmas in a non-religious way. It is still a religious holiday, it is not a secular holiday like Thanksgiving or Fourth of July.
We aren't Christian and we "celebrate" Christmas. Gifts, Elf on the Shelf, trees, cookies, etc. Not a speck of religion involved.
Cool story. Still not a secular holiday.
Anonymous
10/22/2020 16:52
Subject: APS 2021-2022 CALENDAR CHANGES
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I kind of feel like either we need to start earlier so teachers can have plenty of time to establish routines or we could consider moving to a year round schedule....I know that might not be the most popular idea but it would allow for some more flexible scheduling with religious holidays and would also allow us to have some time off during non peak times.
I'm not in love with how few full weeks of school there are at the elementary level.
I agree. I like year-round schedules; but Arlington is finally eliminating the one modified calendar in the one elementary school that had it. It absolutely would provide more flexibility to accommodate the growing # of holidays that must be recognized by having school off. People could stop griping about teachers having cushy jobs with their summers off, though nobody seems to have a problem with students having summers off. Rotating calendar starts can also be implemented to address capacity shortages. Younger students get back into the routine of school faster after shorter breaks. There are lots of reasons to consider yaer-round school. Achievement gap isn't the only reason.
Several schools in my district were year-round to deal with capacity issues. It’s a great idea for Arlington where there’s no space to build more. It also helps parents by spreading out the burden of paying for childcare during breaks.