The Knox County Superintendent, Dr. McIntyre, held a forum last night about the school calendar. Please go here to view the three optional calendars in detail. Here is a brief description from the article in the News-Sentinel today:
"The first calendar, which begins school Aug. 10, gives students a weeklong fall break. The second and third calendars are almost the same except one has a two-day fall break and the other has none. Both have Aug. 20 as the first day of school for students. All three calendars have May 21 as the last day of school for students."
What are your thoughts? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
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39 comments:
I think that the 1st calendar would be the best choice,with school starting on August 10 and having a week long fall break, because students need a break in the fall just like they need a break in the spring. School can be very overwhelming between extracurricular activities and homework. All those late night study sessions can add up and the students become physically and mentally exhausted sometimes resulting in letting homework slide a little. If principles want students to perform their very best on the tests they are given, for the most part, then they should not remove the fall break or just make it shorter. They should keep it exactly the same.
School starting on August 10 would be better for the students because then we would have a week long fall break. During this time we would be able to recharge ourselves for the rest of the semester. Having this long of a break would be an advantage for the students. They wouldn't feel overwhelmed and be able to make better grades by not being burned out by schoolwork.
The first calendar is, what I think, the best option. That's our current calendar and I don't have a problem with it. I agree with what katie p and malic have said about the fall break being necessary. We students (and also the teachers, I suppose) need a time in between the semester to catch up on sleep and just chill without worrying about homework and school, even if only for a week. (I also want to keep the week long fall break because my family has an annual camping trip on the week of fall break, and I do love my camping.) The other two calendars may have a longer summer break, but to be honest, I like my breaks split up and evenly distributed and not all in one big bunch. The last two calendars also don't have a day off school the day after Easter, which could cause problems because many people travel out of town for Easter.
Fall break's auspicious vacation provides an ease of stress for most students and teachers. As the only week of rest between August and December, many families travel because it is the only chance. The other vacations occur during major holidays. Students and teachers necessitate fall break as a time of relaxation in order to be successful in school.
1)The advantage about the present Knox County School calendar is that it contains a week long fall break. The break is a time of leisure for students and teachers. The disadvantage is the start of school in the second week of August. The scorching summer days of work tire many students and teachers.
2)The advantage of the second option is that school begins on the twentieth of August. This helps students focus more in on school than on the heat. Also, students and teachers receive the fall break. However, the two-day break is not long enough to have a long vacation with the family.
3)The advantage of the third proposal is that it also begins on the twentieth of August, allowing the weather to cool down. The disadvantage of the idea is that fall break does not occur. Students and teachers may wear out over the tension of stress during exams.
I believe the first option is the best for all students, teachers, and parents. Although we have to cope with the heat, students will not be as lazy in schoolwork as to starting later in the year. Fall break provides a release of pressure to help maintain a level of alertness in work within the school year.
Having school start on August 10th, in my opinion, is the smartest decision for the new school calendar. I enjoy having a break right before the holidays. Being able to see family and old friends is always a treat. I agree with Katiep because school can be overwhelming at times and taking all honors classes makes things even more stressful. Principals and teachers deserve a break also. They have twice as much work to do and sometimes it seems like there is not enough time to do it all.
I think that the first is the best option because as many people have already said gives students and teachers a break before exams start. Personaly, fall break is a time where I can chill and not worry about turning things in the next day and getting projects done; I know that I am not the only student who is put under stress from projects in ap and honors classes. I also think that fall break provides a chill out time for teachers. They don't have to worry about grading things and planning for there classes.
Personally, I don't agree with any of the calendars.
Calendar A: Sure you get a fall break, but school still starts too early. It's too hot to be walking to school and to be riding to school in a hot, muggy bus.
Calendar B1: If there is no fall break then parents would complain about not being able to travel. That is, if they can get off of work. But, once again, I beleive school still starts too early. Students are still on the hot, muggy bus and they are still walking home. There is not a big difference in temperature in ten days.
Calendar B2: I do not see the point in even having a fall break if it is only going to last two days. I guess that is better than nothing, though. Two days is ,also, just not enought time to really do any vacationing.
If i HAD to choose between one if theses calandars I would probably choose how it is now (Calendar A). This allows students a week free to visit family, go to the beach, and basically unwind.
And has anyone niticed how last year, once a month we had a long weekend. Meaning that we got one free friday and one free monday every month. Well, look at the calendar. Do you see it, because I dont? The Superintendent already took these holidays away from us. Why should he take away our fall break ,too? Next thing you know we will be going to school on Christmas.
I agree with almost everyone, the first calendar is the best choice for students as well as adults. With students having a week fall break it gives us time to let the stress off of our shoulders. This week gives us time to relax and catch up on anything that we need to. Also this week is when alot of families plan vacations because of cheaper flight and so forth. School starting on the 21st is just fine because we will still have at least a two month summer vacation. So in all reality the first calendar is the best choice. This gives everyone benefit for vacation time.
I agree with most of the other comments made. I feel that school starting August 10 would be the best option, because like Snehap said most families take off fall break for their vacation days because work schedules for the parents, and other various things such as sports and music take a lot of students' time. As well as having fall break helps students cool down and relax from having to study for tests and so on. So I agree that the first calendar would be the best option for students, parents, and teachers.
I Believe the last calender would be the best choice. Model 2B. Having an extra week of summer means alot to me, because on usual fall breaks im home with nothing to do. During the summer there is plenty of things to do on days off. I do not belive having three less days of fall break will change things much. Plus we start 10 days later. An only disadvatage would be less days off during the year. The first calender is the least of my choices. There is no need to have so many breaks during the year. Starting on August is unnescisary. In any case i believe the third calender would be the best choice for students.
In my opinion I think that starting school on August 10 is still to early to start school, however, I would rather be able to enjoy a week long fall break than only two days or none at all. Along with heatherh my family and I have annual camping trips planned during our fall break and without our yearly camping the fall season just would not be the same. Also, like many people have stated, fall break is a chance for both students and teachers to relax and it rewards us for making it half way through the semester! I am supporting the first calendar for the 2009-2010 school year!
I agree with the first calender when you start school on Agust 10. Everyone needs a break to clear you head and relax. To blow some smkoe before exams. Its a good thing to take a break. If we started a week later then it would only give us 2 to 0 breaks all depending on the calender and wouldn't help releave any stress which is what fall break does for the students that work hard and deserve a break. Fall break is good for testing and releaving the stress after all the hard work before exams. We need this time. So i agree with calender one and whoever else agrees with calender one as well.
Calendar A is the best choice.
I love summer, and I do think it would be awesome to have a longer summer break, but I feel that fall break is necessary. Like most people have said, it is nice to get a small break half way through the semester. Taking that out may result in burn-out of the students and or teahers.
I believe that they should implicate the first calendar for the sole reason of getting one week for fall break instead of two days or even NONE! which is ridiculous in my opinion. For all the calendars we still get out on the same day we just start ten days earlier in the first than the others. Which ever calendar they choose we still go to school, roughly, the same number of days. An advantage is we get a week for fall break giving us a break from school that we all need instead of the alternatives. A disadvantage is that we shorten our summer by ten days.
I believe that the first calendar is the best of all three options. It gives students and teachers a break from the long stressful weeks. Students need a break and the majority of parents like the fall break because they get tend to get vacation during the long year. The bad part is that students forget everything that had happened before fall break, just like during summer break.
I don't think that they should change the calendar in any way and keep it the same way it is this year. There are no advantages for having no fall break. If they take out fall break a bunch of people will just get pissed off, it would be a retarded thing to do. A break in the middle of the semester is good for students because they will not have to go to school, and they will come back fresh. I do not think they should get rid of fall break let alone change the calendar at all.
I would rather start school on Aug. 10 and have a week long fall break. During the school year, fall break gives students time to relax. It is a nice time to unwind and to enjoy life. The break allows students to catch up on sleep and gain energy to do their best in school. It is important to me to keep a week long fall break so I can look forward to that time, and I can have time to do things that school time would take up otherwise.
Fall break gives students a chance to take a break from school.Many times families plan short vacations for fall break. I think everyone needs a break before finals then everyone won't be as stressed out. So I think the first calendar would be the best choice.
I pretty much disagree with everyone. I think the second calendar is the best option. The first which gives us a weeklong fall break, starts us ten days earlier (Aug. 10th instead of Aug. 20th).I would rather have an extra TEN days of summer than a FIVE day break in fall when it is colder and there isn't much to do. The third starts us on Aug. 20th, but we receive no fall break whatsoever. However, with the second calendar, we will start on August 20th and receive a two-day break, which would probably be an extended weekend and that would be better than nothing. I don't really like any of the plans, but since I must choose I would choose the second option.
I think that starting school on August 10 would be the best choice even though that date is still extremely early to start. I personally want to have a week long fall break because it gives us a chance to sit back and relax after a long two and half months of school. School is something that can/does consume our lives sometimes and it is nice to take a break from all the stress it brings. I dont think they should make any new changes to our fall break, they should keep it just the way it is now
I agree with Danielle on starting school on the 20th. Even though we would not have a week long fall break, we would have more time off to enjoy our summer.
I think that we should have the first calendar. I know that starting school August 20 sounds great but I really want a week long break from school during the fall. Having this break gives students the chance to recharge their batteries after working hard on school work. I think that fall break is more important than ten extra days of summer vacation because as I said before it gives students a chance to rest. During the summer all we do is rest. The first option is the best.
I agree with everyone who supports Calendar A. Even though school starts so early the extra breaks in the middle of the semester really help. Unless a teacher assigns a project over fall break, it's a great time to relax and get rid of all the stress from the semester.Calendar C is by far the worst calendar. For Christmas my family travels to Wisconsin the day that i get out of school and return the day before Christmas Eve. If we don't get to start our Christmas break until the 22nd many families will miss out on travel time.
I must begin by stressing my opinion, which is that the Model 1 school calendar would be the most effective and beneficial to teachers and students alike. I know I am often the most excited about school as I am entering a new grade, eager to go back in the summer. After school starts, stress begins to build and many find themselves being deprived of a healthy amount of sleep. This being said, the idea of fall break motivates students and teachers to continue working their hardest. Model 2A completely eliminates this break and Model 2B shortens it to only two days. As I mentioned before, I do not think starting school later in August is a valid advantage in Model 2A. In Model 2B it could be argued that we receive a longer winter break; however, it is after Christmas, not before. While there are individual advantages to each calendar, I believe the school board's most effective choice would be found in Model 1.
I agree with tuckerm, starting school on August 10th is the most advantageous. Summer is a two month break ten days would not have much of an effect, but having a week long break in the middle of the school year helps us to relax and not have all the stress of late night homework after extracurricular activities.
Personally I would prefer Calendar B because I would rather start school later. That would give me a little more time to relax during football practice while not having the added pressure of school. Also, since I play football the fall break doesn't mean that much. We practice every day anyway. But, what I would really like is a calendar that keeps us out of school until the first week of September and keeps us in school through May. Not only would I like the longer summer, I think it would save energy.
I would prefer Calender A. With high school and all the work I don't think just having two days off in the fall can really relieve stress for the students and the teachers (Poor them). Even though school would start Aug. 10, it wouldn't really much that much of a difference considering the schedule has been like this for a long time.
I think the first calender would be best because no matter how early or late students start school they are still worn out from there everyday routine of waking up early and staying up to do homework and study.Some also have after school activities that wear them out. Fall break is also a good time to spend time with the family and for some students it is a chance to catch up in school.
The first calendar is the best option. A longer summer is fine an all, but what students and teachers need is fall break during the school year. It breaks up the semester, giving us much needed time off.
I really don't care which calendar we go with. I think the first one would help students and teachers keep their sanity though. Having five days off in the middle of the semester is, I think, better than none or just two. Even though we start earlier, a long fall break is a vacation time in the middle of the semester which keeps the stress off most of us at the high school.
I sternly agree with charlottel that calendar a is the best choice. As much as we all love summer break, fall break is just as important. Fall break allows students and teachers a chance to rest halfway through the semester, and without that break from homework and early mornings, students and teachers could very easily become overly stressed.
I believe the second calender is the best one because if you think about it, the school year is really shorter. You get ten extra days of summer the first calender does not give and you get two days extra off for fall break. All in all you get the most days off i think. im not 100% sure my math is right but im pretty positive. anyways, i like the later start time and still get to keep the fall break.
I think the second calendar would be the best for me. Starting school later would allow students to have an all-togehter longer summer break. It would work out especially well for me because I have football practice everyday. So by not starting school until later in September it would give me more time to sit back and relax after football practice. This is why i believe that the second calendar would be the best idea and would work the best for me.
I believe that the Model 1 calendar, our current schedule is sufficient to satisfy the educational needs of the students, and equally giving them recooperation time from ardous intesnse classes. The second schedule provides no fall break, but does start approximately a week and a half later than the current schedule. The third starts the twentieth as well, but gives only two days of fall break, which, I belive, is an unecessarily short break, and would provide no better break than a second weekend. If a break is to be provided why not use it to the fullest potential. The school schedule should stay the same, and changing it would create problems that could be avoided by keeping the current Knox County School Schedule.
I think the second option of starting on August 20th and having a two week fall break is the best because it starts later in summer, but we still have a break in October.
This will enhance our summer break and still let us, the students, have a little vacation, plus weekends, before the remaining half of the fall semester. It has it's disadvantages of losing days of fall break but this is the calender that makes sense to me.
1. An advantage of the first is obvioulsy the fall break which all of us look forward to every year. It gives us something to look forward to in the middle of the semester besides Thanksgiving. A disadvantage like Rachels said is that we start back at the hottest time of the year when we could be out enjoying the wonderful weather.
2.Starting on the 20th of August would be better than the 10th because we could have more time to enjoy the nice weather and do the summer reading we all tend to put off. The disadvantage is the mere two days of fall break which hardly gives us time to do anything.
3. The 3rd calendar's main advantage would also be starting the 20th of August. The main disadvantage is the lack of a fall break and those insignificant little half days. What do those do for us anyways? We no sooner enter the classroom and sit down, then we have to go to the next class.
I feel as if the first calendar, or keeping it where it is now is the best plan
kaylah
I believe that the first calender is the best choice because the week long fall break actually gives the student enough time to take off from the hectic school year.
As popular to common belief, I believe that the first calender would be the best choice. We would start earlier yes, but we would have fall break and a spring break where we can all unwind and relax. I have to have a break or else I would go nuts.
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