Dear Members of West Hartford Board of Education,
We understand that you will be discussing and voting on the 2016-17 school calendar at the February 17th Board Meeting. We would ask you to consider reinstituting the traditional school calendar which provides students and faculty with a full week’s vacation in December, February and April. Please consider this for the following reasons:
- Having a full week off in February helps to clear the schools of winter ‘bugs’. This helps to break the sick cycle.
- When a full week is not scheduled into the academic calendar, many parents decide to take a week’s vacation during other weeks in February when the prices are lower. This makes it very difficult for teachers to present new material, as students are out and returning at different times throughout the month of February.
- Having a full week in February and April is important to high school students who would like to visit colleges. Having both weeks off makes it possible for high school students and parents to attend informative programs at various colleges.
- Most families who want to spend family time skiing with their children find the week in February to be the optimal time to do this. December is to early for reliable snow and April is too late.
- The traditional February and April week vacation breaks up the calendar more equally. There are approximately 8 weeks from December vacation to February vacation, 8 weeks from February vacation to April vacation , and a further 8 weeks to the end of the year. Students and faculty benefit from a week’s break at these 8 week intervals. Students and faculty come in rested, recharged and ready to go upon their return from these vacations.
- Please do not consider eliminating the February and April vacations in favor of a week in March. This would make a long hard stretch form December to March (approximately 12 weeks) and an even longer more difficult stretch to June (approximately 12+ weeks.)
We would be very grateful if you would consider these suggestions and reinstate the full week in February as part of the 2016-2017 West Hartford school calendar.
18 Comments
Long overdue. We vote for it every year and it seems to be ignored!! What is the real benefit to eliminating it! Working parents do not need their kids out of school by June 15th! Camps do not start til late June!
We used to ski for that week of February, and it was family time for us. Since we travelled about 6 hours away for that week, now that it's only 4 days off, we aren't as able to drive 6 hours for only 4 days. Please bring back the full week!
Teachers and Students need the opportunity to have other experiences outside of the school environment and need balance to have the energy to learn and teach
Breaks are important and help staff and students recharge.
Feb Vacation is perfection down time to get the schools disinfected and kids degermed! Gives teachers a chance to regroup for the spring semester.
Only way to disinfect the schools
Having three breaks is especially important for high school athletes, who are often told they cannot go away if a break falls mid-season. Bringing back this third week off would give families more options for time away.
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Dear Members of West Hartford Board of Education,
We understand that you will be discussing and voting on the 2016-17 school calendar at the February 17th Board Meeting. We would ask you to consider reinstituting the traditional school calendar which provides students and faculty with a full week’s vacation in December, February and April. Please consider this for the following reasons:
- Having a full week off in February helps to clear the schools of winter ‘bugs’. This helps to break the sick cycle.
- When a full week is not scheduled into the academic calendar, many parents decide to take a week’s vacation during other weeks in February when the prices are lower. This makes it very difficult for teachers to present new material, as students are out and returning at different times throughout the month of February.
- Having a full week in February and April is important to high school students who would like to visit colleges. Having both weeks off makes it possible for high school students and parents to attend informative programs at various colleges.
- Most families who want to spend family time skiing with their children find the week in February to be the optimal time to do this. December is to early for reliable snow and April is too late.
- The traditional February and April week vacation breaks up the calendar more equally. There are approximately 8 weeks from December vacation to February vacation, 8 weeks from February vacation to April vacation , and a further 8 weeks to the end of the year. Students and faculty benefit from a week’s break at these 8 week intervals. Students and faculty come in rested, recharged and ready to go upon their return from these vacations.
- Please do not consider eliminating the February and April vacations in favor of a week in March. This would make a long hard stretch form December to March (approximately 12 weeks) and an even longer more difficult stretch to June (approximately 12+ weeks.)
We would be very grateful if you would consider these suggestions and reinstate the full week in February as part of the 2016-2017 West Hartford school calendar.
18 Comments
Please bring back a week long February Vacation and also keep April vacation. Getting a 4 day weekend does not equate to a full week off which means 9 days off in a row. Many students and teachers are often sick with colds or flu etc... at this time and clearing out the schools for a week for rest, recovery, and relaxation is a huge benefit. Also, even when there is not a full week, parents often pull students out of school for vacation anyway, which then leaves the students playing catch-up when they return.
Long overdue. We vote for it every year and it seems to be ignored!! What is the real benefit to eliminating it! Working parents do not need their kids out of school by June 15th! Camps do not start til late June!
We used to ski for that week of February, and it was family time for us. Since we travelled about 6 hours away for that week, now that it's only 4 days off, we aren't as able to drive 6 hours for only 4 days. Please bring back the full week!
Teachers and Students need the opportunity to have other experiences outside of the school environment and need balance to have the energy to learn and teach
Breaks are important and help staff and students recharge.
Feb Vacation is perfection down time to get the schools disinfected and kids degermed! Gives teachers a chance to regroup for the spring semester.
Only way to disinfect the schools
Having three breaks is especially important for high school athletes, who are often told they cannot go away if a break falls mid-season. Bringing back this third week off would give families more options for time away.
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Please bring back a week long February Vacation and also keep April vacation. Getting a 4 day weekend does not equate to a full week off which means 9 days off in a row. Many students and teachers are often sick with colds or flu etc... at this time and clearing out the schools for a week for rest, recovery, and relaxation is a huge benefit. Also, even when there is not a full week, parents often pull students out of school for vacation anyway, which then leaves the students playing catch-up when they return.