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Thursday's Most Active Threads

by Jeff Steele last modified Feb 10, 2023 10:25 AM

The topics with the most engagement yesterday included FCPS's school calendar, common things on which posters would never spend money, breast implants, and Robinson Secondary School.

The most active topic yesterday was sort of a return engagement. While the thread is new, the topic is not. Diligent readers of this blog may remember that last month I discussed a thread about school calendars for the Fairfax County Public Schools. That thread was about 4 proposed calendars that had been offered for public input. A thread titled, "School Calendar 2023-2024" and posted in the "Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS)" forum revisited that topic because the school board was holding a meeting in order to approve one of the proposals. Posters provided live coverage of the board meeting, posting continual updates to what was taking place. Interspersed among the updates was plenty of commentary from posters kibitzing the board activity. Based on what was posted, it appears that the Board approved a modified version of what had been designated the "blue" calendar. This calendar provides for the first day of school two weeks before Labor Day, includes a two-week Winter Break, and a one-week Spring Break. These were all things that DCUM posters seem to have wanted (though, of course, there was not complete agreement on anything). In addition, the calendar provides for a host of Religious and Cultural Observance days. These days mark significant religious and cultural days in a variety of traditions and may be missed by students without earning an absence. Teachers are not supposed to introduce new material on those days so that absent students doen't fall behind. These days were selected based on public input and recorded absences from previous years. In the end, DCUM posters seem relatively pleased with the outcome, though everyone had their own personal nit to pick. The calendar was approved for three years, though the second and third years might be tweaked somewhat.

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