Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Timing of Spring Break
Since Friday is the last day before Spring Break it has prompted me to do some thinking and remembering. Normally the kids would have this week off, but this year the break is tied in with Easter, so the kids don't go back until Wed. the 30th.
I seem to recall that when I was in elementary school in the '70s, spring break was always later, no matter when Easter fell. I know that for a fact because of 2 things: St. Patrick's Day and my birthday ( the 19th ). We had an Irish music teacher at my elementary school. Her name was Miss McDonald and she played the accordian. Every St. Patrick's Day she would put on her costume from Irish dance and play her accordian all around the school at recess. We would all follow her like she was the Pied Piper or something. Every year on my birthday I always got the bumps from my friends. Those 2 occurances on a yearly basis make me sure that I was in school the week of the 15th-19th or so. Fast forward to junior high and high school and I am sure I always had my birthday off since it was Spring Break that week. My dad taught high school math for 36 years and I remember having my birthday party ( or my friends over for dinner or whatever ) on like Tuesday the 19th or something since we all had no school. The difference has nothing to do with the grade level; all public schools in BC have more or less the same time off. Some districts change the timing of their school day to make an extra day or 2 off, but if they do that it is district wide and nothing to do with grade level.
So I assume that sometime in the early '80s when I was making the shift from elementary ( K-7 ) to Junior High ( 8-10 ) that the powers that be in Victoria, or at least the Richmond School District, bumped Spring Break back a week and there it stayed.
I seem to recall that when I was in elementary school in the '70s, spring break was always later, no matter when Easter fell. I know that for a fact because of 2 things: St. Patrick's Day and my birthday ( the 19th ). We had an Irish music teacher at my elementary school. Her name was Miss McDonald and she played the accordian. Every St. Patrick's Day she would put on her costume from Irish dance and play her accordian all around the school at recess. We would all follow her like she was the Pied Piper or something. Every year on my birthday I always got the bumps from my friends. Those 2 occurances on a yearly basis make me sure that I was in school the week of the 15th-19th or so. Fast forward to junior high and high school and I am sure I always had my birthday off since it was Spring Break that week. My dad taught high school math for 36 years and I remember having my birthday party ( or my friends over for dinner or whatever ) on like Tuesday the 19th or something since we all had no school. The difference has nothing to do with the grade level; all public schools in BC have more or less the same time off. Some districts change the timing of their school day to make an extra day or 2 off, but if they do that it is district wide and nothing to do with grade level.
So I assume that sometime in the early '80s when I was making the shift from elementary ( K-7 ) to Junior High ( 8-10 ) that the powers that be in Victoria, or at least the Richmond School District, bumped Spring Break back a week and there it stayed.
// posted by Kelley @ 4:49 p.m. 
