Off Topic School times & Summer Break

[gymisforeveryone]

Edit to my earlier post: there are 37 school weeks, not 27

 

[Iwannabemargo]

so secondary school is 5 x 5 x 29 = 725 hours a year, and does that include any breaks ? Way less than us and yet you have the best education rating in the world - just goes to show. Do you get much homework ?

Okay so 925 hours, much more like us then

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Yes I misspelled at first! The hours include the breaks. There is a 15 minutes break betwheen every 45 minute class and also a 30 minutes lunch break so if you have 6 classes a day you have 1 hour and 45 minutes of braks during the 6 hour day.

The amount of homework seems to be much smaller than in many other countries. I was a good student and homework took 15 minutes to an hour a day.

 

[gwenmom]

We used to go 8.30 - 3.30 in WA (Australia, not Washington state). I think here in Tas they go 9am till 3.15pm? Something like that. We homeschool so we just do what we like LOL

Ha! I am from Washington state and you confused me greatly for a half second

 

[Iwannabemargo]

so a 4 1/2 hour day, 832.5 hours a year, much less

 

[COz]

In the ACT, NSW, VIC, NT and TAS its called pre school but in QLD, SA and WA its called Kindergarten but its the same thing.

Then the first formal year of education is called Kindergarten in the ACT, NSW and TAS, its called Prep in QLD and VIC, its called transition in the NT, Reception in SA and Pre primary in WA. But its all the same curriculum.

Actually, TAS is with QLD - Kindergarten, then Prep then Grade 1.
In NSW (no idea about the other states) you have to pay for pre-school, but I don't believe you have to in TAS, it's not a separately run program even though it's not a compulsory year.
The reason I say it's an extra year is that you can enrol into Kindergarten at 4.5 in TAS, but not into the year before grade 1 at this age. Perhaps I should have said that people in some states graduate a year older than other states, but I wasn't being that accurate I guess.

Thank you for that summary, apart from the TAS thing that's the best and most concise explanation I've seen. Besides the different year naming conventions the different syllabi in each state for things like maths really play havoc when students go to uni in a different state. I can't wait for the national curriculum to be implemented!

 

[COz]

In your country, do you have a national curriculum or do different states teach different material?

 

[COz]

I was going to put this in a new thread but I think it's still summer break related:

In Australia we don't have the same culture of moving away for college. The majority of students going on to university after year 12 study within their state of residence.

Does this make it easier for gyms as they retain their older teenage coaches throughout the year rather than having them only at summer break?

During school time does this mean that gyms only have younger teenage coaches and adults coaching? How old do you have to be to coach?

 

[Aussie_coach]

so secondary school is 5 x 5 x 29 = 725 hours a year, and does that include any breaks ? Way less than us and yet you have the best education rating in the world - just goes to show. Do you get much homework ?

Okay so 925 hours, much more like us then

More hours and more homework don't necessarily equal a better education.

Finland has an excellent education system mainly because of their excellent teachers. Teaching is a very highly respected profession and only the top students are accepted as teachers in training. Then again only the top graduates will be accepted into teaching positions.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

Yes that's true Aussie_coach. Teachers are highly respected and just top students get into university. Also it takes 5-6 years to graduate from university. Studying is free so there is no tuitions of any kind. So you can't "buy" your spot in university. That makes studying possible for everyone who has the drive and talent and who is willing to work hard to pass the entrance examination. That's why teachers themselves value their own profession high and they really care about their job and students.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

We have year round school where I live (we also have "traditional" calendar schools, but we chose year round).

It's rather complicated to explain but we have a 4 track system where 3 of the 4 tracks are in session and the 4th is tracked out at any given time. We are generally in school for 9 weeks and then on break for ~3 weeks. Everyone has 4th of July week and Christmas week off and some other holidays of course. The track my kids are on happen to coincide with those breaks, so we get around 5 weeks in June and 4-5 weeks in December off and then 2 1/2-3 weeks off in March and September. I love it!

But this does mean that there really isn't a summer break. My kids are already 2 weeks into the new school year! Probably makes it harder for the gyms around here without the summers? I never thought of that before now...

My elementary age kids go 9:15-3:45. My middle school son goes 7:25-2:15 (ugh!). It varies by school though and the start/end times are really there because we have a 3 tiered bus system (same buses generally have 3 routes: an elementary, middle and high school).

 

[COz]

Wow @mom2newgymnast that's really interesting. I haven't heard of anything like that before.

Do I understand correctly that each school has these 4 tracks? Or do different schools run on different tracks?

If each school has 4 tracks that sounds incredibly complicated for the teachers!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

especially if they have their own children in a different school !

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Wow @mom2newgymnast that's really interesting. I haven't heard of anything like that before.

Do I understand correctly that each school has these 4 tracks? Or do different schools run on different tracks?

If each school has 4 tracks that sounds incredibly complicated for the teachers!

Yes, every school that is on the year round calendar has the 4 tracks. It's supposed to help with crowding/utilization issues. For example, the school may have 800 students, but there are only 600 actually attending at any one time. Teachers are assigned to a track, so they also teach the same 9 weeks on/3 weeks off schedule. So it's not really that complicated to them. It's hard to explain, but it works. Not every one loves it, but overall it's pretty popular here and most families on the year round schedule do enjoy it.

 

[tumbletop]

Our district (Wisconsin, USA) is kind of weird.
Elementary (ages 4-10/11) is 8.20-3.30, going from after labor day (first Monday in September) up to the 22 or 23 of December, then January 2 or 3 to June 21, with a week-long break around Easter (usually the week after Easter).
Middle school (11-14) has the same breaks but start at 7.50am and go until 2.55pm.
High school (14-18) is same break-wise, but start at 7.15 am and go until 2.40.

Part of the weird start times is due to the fact that one elementary school (out of the four we have), the middle school, and the high school are all on the same 0.75 mile tract of land that's backed up by park and woodland and only two roads that go to the school, so they have to stagger starts or traffic is a nightmare. I hated starting school at 7.15 because I had to walk (only a mile, but almost all through the woodland, so it took 20-30 minutes, more in snow [which we have constantly from October-April]), and high school had a "zero hour" for music groups, starting at 6.20 twice a week. Uck.

Sorry for the ramble, just in a rambling mood today I guess.

 

[Aussie_coach]

Yes, every school that is on the year round calendar has the 4 tracks. It's supposed to help with crowding/utilization issues. For example, the school may have 800 students, but there are only 600 actually attending at any one time. Teachers are assigned to a track, so they also teach the same 9 weeks on/3 weeks off schedule. So it's not really that complicated to them. It's hard to explain, but it works. Not every one loves it, but overall it's pretty popular here and most families on the year round schedule do enjoy it.

Wow that sounds pretty crazy.

How do they handle whole school events like sports days, special assemblies, musicals, swimming carnivals and so on when only 75% of the students are in attendance at any one time? How do they develop a sense of belonging and camaraderie in the school?

How do they handle siblings? Would all siblings be on the same track?

 

[Iwannabemargo]

and high school had a "zero hour" for music groups, starting at 6.20 twice a week. Uck.

WHAT !!!!

If that was here no-one would attend !

 

[Seeker]

WHAT !!!!

If that was here no-one would attend !

This is crazy! Kids should be asleep at 6:20.

 

[NH~GymMom]

In NH (New England in general I think) we are a little different than other US states. We start last week of August and go through mid June, or later depending on snow days (last year we got out June 21st).

3 days off for Thanksgiving
1 - 1 1/2 weeks off in December depending on the days Christmas and New Years fall
1 week off in February
1 week off in April
10 -11 weeks of summer vacation

Most states do one spring break in March/April, I don't know why we get the few break, too. We do have other random days off for bank holidays and teacher workshops.

In our district, you have to be 5 by sept 30th to enter K, so youngest is 4 yrs 11 mos. you can defer one year but that's it. We don't see as much deferring as some states with strong sports programs do.

School day for DD (8 yo) is 8:20 to 2:45 with 20 minute lunch and 20 minute recess.

As for the curriculum, there are state and federal standards that have to be met, but each school district chooses the curriculum they teach. There are state wide standardized tests that are used to track districts progress and adherence to standards. It's a flawed system but what we deal with!

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Wow that sounds pretty crazy.

How do they handle whole school events like sports days, special assemblies, musicals, swimming carnivals and so on when only 75% of the students are in attendance at any one time? How do they develop a sense of belonging and camaraderie in the school?

How do they handle siblings? Would all siblings be on the same track?

It depends on the event, but most in school things (assemblies, field day, etc) they do twice so they can cover all the tracks. Some of the big evening/weekend events like the book fair or school festival are only held once and you can come even if you are tracked out. In elementary school all the tracks really mingle together and you can still get to know everyone (they play together during recess, ride the bus together, eat lunch at the same time, etc). Middle school is a little different.. other than seeing each other in the hall, each grade/track combo is kind of it's own school within a school with not much interaction between the tracks (other than the bus and clubs/sports). My oldest is in 7th grade and in the band and the only time he even sees some of his fellow band members is at their twice a year band concerts! It all works out though and my kids and I love it.

As for siblings, they are almost always on the same track. Every once in a while, usually when one is in middle and another is in elementary, there might be a problem getting them on the same track. But usually in that case, things can be worked out by switching the elementary one. I don't know anyone with siblings on different tracks. However, the high schools are all on the traditional calendar so once your oldest enters high school, they will be on different calendars unless you leave the year round school.