Those on a modified school calendar had their first day last week

There are so many of us who are getting those last few week’s of summer fun in with family and friends.

This week that mixes staycation family time with necessary appointments has been planned for a while – it’s the annual Ontario Soccer I-Model league break that most hardcore footballing families plan around (unless they’re in OPDL, in which case their two week break just ended).

As we’re planning our fun in the sun at various locations – and what weekends are left to enjoy before school starts – friends of ours were posting first day of school pics already on social media as of August 6.

Yep, we have friends whose children are on a modified school calendar and they love it. I did write about this briefly a few years ago, but I thought it was a good time to bring it up again.

Cousin Sam and his partner in crime (wife) Courtney have been on a modified calendar for a few years now. Their board, the Durham District School Board, offers this at two schools.

Students attend school year-round with a month off in July and more days off strewn throughout the year. The vacation times are spread out so that it helps families plan time off a little better as well as keeping the kids more focused when they’re at school.

Our family/friends love it – as do other parents they know through the programming. Extra vacation days at various times means not having to make travel plans at the same time as most.

They notice their kids learning is more balanced with one less month of summer. There is also less feeling of “parent burnout.”

Since the kids are in the same boat as most of their friends, they aren’t as against it as most of our children would be. My daughter looked at me with eyes that could only be described as daggers when I mentioned it would be great to see them do that at her school (hehehehe).

It will be interesting to see in the future how grades, student successes compare to those on traditional calendars. After all, regular breaks throughout the year that help keep their minds fresh is likely a better option that what’s up in the regular school year.

For the Durham school board, this year’s modified calendar looks like this . . .

Here’s a very interesting item: They get almost two weeks off from school in mid-October. What a great time to plan a flight somewhere for a good prices and not have to worry about the kids missing too much school.

They have the same Christmas break as the rest of us, but an extra week in March and a week in May.

Each time my faux cousin Sam (we’re not technically related but may as well be) speaks about the school year, he smiles. I don’t know many parents who do that in mid-August.

It’s a fantastic opportunity for parents to enjoy some mid-week couples fun to reconnect on mini-midday dates. Go swimming, have a nice lunch out, kayak, bike, hike or even spend a rainy day watching movies – all the things you used to do together before kids ruin everything (just kidding – sort of).

On that note, it does require a certain number of parents and families to sign up for the program in order for it to run, and teachers/administrators/support staff willing to work on that schedule. There are well over 100 kids enrolled in the modified school year at their school.

While I don’t think every school in Ontario would be moving to this – if it did, some of the benefits would lose their lustre – but I do believe every board should be offering this opportunity at least one school per community.

Or whatever works. But, the discussion should be had and taken seriously by all involved.