Parents who were stressed by the last-minute runaround caused by the scheduling of December’s Christmas break will likely find that scenario repeating after trustees endorsed a calendar in which the winter break begins this year on Dec. 24.
That means the last day of school in December will be Friday, Dec. 21.
Trustees Megan Higgins and Jessica Stanley raised concerns about having the winter break beginning so close to Christmas.
“It seems to be hugely unpopular,” said Higgins.
“It was a disaster,” said Stanley, noting parents she heard from weren’t happy. “All the parents were talking about this week before Christmas and how desperately we wished (kids) weren’t in schools,” she said, adding parents weren’t the only ones. “I sure heard from our teachers that kids were wingy. It was a disaster in the classroom. My kids were bonkers.”
“I was cursing those who approved the calendar from this year,” said Stanley. “Of course I recognize it’s us.”
About a third of the small number of comments received by parents on the calendar asked for the Christmas break to start earlier in December.
Some said the schedule meant there was no time for families to enjoy festive activities together before Christmas. Others said having kids go back to school later in January was harder for working parents to manage.
Higgins asked if it would be possible to flag the issue for future years.
But assistant superintendent Chris Atkinson said the last day of school is only that close to Christmas once or twice every seven years. The last day of school will move further away from Christmas for the next three or four years, he said.
Superintendent Mark Pearmain said one problem with changing the dates for Christmas break is that schools in the Lower Mainland try to align their calendars as some students attend schools out of their own district, some staff work in multiple districts and it gets complicated for families to juggle schedules.
Atkinson said some Lower Mainland districts approve their calendars three years in advance.
Stanley also asked about scheduling a professional development day for Nov. 1 – the day after many younger kids are out late for Halloween.
But Pearmain said from a secondary school perspective, having a non-instructional day after Halloween is “not a good recipe” and more likely to result in vandalism on Halloween.
“We also had an elementary parent (on the calendar committee) who didn’t want their kid at home on Nov. 1,” Atkinson said.
Other comments from parents on the calendar included questions about why there are so many non-instructional days and requests that they be reduced.
Atkinson said those days are set by the provincial Ministry of Education, not the school district.
Trustee Barry Forward said it’s important to communicate the value of the teacher training that happens on those days to parents.
Trustees voted to approve the calendar, with Stanley opposed over the scheduling of the Christmas break. “It’s not good for the kids. It’s not good for the parents and I don’t think it’s good for our schools,” she said.
The calendar for the next school year can be found on the school district’s website.
