Submitted by Mr. Ethan Sickels

I truly thought flipping the calendar to March would finally mean getting away from the miserable weather we have had this winter. At this point I think everyone is tired of all the days we have missed, even the students . . . well, maybe half of them.

That provides me with my topic for this week, though. First off, school will be in session on Thursday, March 14, and Friday, March 15, to make up for two of our missed days. As of now, our final day of school is still slated for Friday, May 24. Next year, as I tried to explain earlier this year, we will just be held to an hours count, not hours and days. That would have been the perfect remedy for this year, but unfortunately that’s the way timing goes.

Our 2019-20 calendar will have its final discussion at our next board meeting on March 14, beginning with a calendar hearing. State law requires that any school that starts more than 10 days before Labor Day hold a hearing before approving the calendar. I wanted to take this opportunity to give you the basics of the calendar, and then once approved this month we will get the final copy out on our website, Twitter, and in the paper.

We plan on starting on Tuesday, August 20 . . . a few days later than our norm the past few years. This gives our families a few more days to enjoy the State Fair and that last blast of summer fun before the school year begins. Our teachers will begin on August 12, which gives us some time to do some curriculum work and our normal meetings before the students come back.

Winter break would begin on December 20, and we will have a full two weeks this coming year. Teachers will return on January 6, while students return on January 7. Our spring break will again fall around Easter, with vacation days on April 10 and 13.

Our final day of school is slated for Friday, May 15. We would show on our calendar six snow days beginning May 18, but in all likelihood with the new rules would not need to use them (or very little).

Our calendar will have 169 student days, for a total of 1,103 hours. Since state law requires 1,044 hours, we have 59 hours that can be missed before we have to start making up days. Please keep in mind, no matter how “good” the winter is, we will go to school until May 15 . . . even if we have plenty more than 1,044 hours.

That’s the nuts and bolts. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out to me, and feel free to come to the calendar hearing on March 14. We would have it up first in our board meeting, so it would start right at 7:00 p.m. As always, I leave you with three important words . . . GO BIG BLUE!