A lot of kids are trying to soak up the last couple of weeks of summer freedom, but not students who live in one part of Alliston.
They went back to school today and hit the books.
“By the middle of august I'm ready to come back,” says Palmer Wells, Grade Seven student at Ernest Cumberland Elementary School in Alliston.
This might seem early but students and teachers there follow what's called a modified calendar.
“We return two weeks earlier than other members of our community, and so it also allows for another two week break throughout the year so we have a week in October and a week in May,” says Aileen Ross, principal at Ernest Cumberland.
While it does cut the summer short, some teachers say they prefer this system.
“It's a long time from the first of September until Christmas without a holiday in there,” says Julie McKee, a teacher and librarian. “You have one day at thanksgiving, but it is a long stretch so this way it breaks it up into two chunks.”
And students say starting early helps them stay energized all year long.
“Sometimes in the year we'll be going, going, going and we'll be so bored of school and then break comes along and we're out,” says Jacob Major, who is in Grade Seven. “We're out for a while and then we come back and we're energized again. It's like a rechargeable battery pretty much.”
However, because not many schools are like this some kids say it can be difficult to explain to their friends.
“They were really confused and then I tried to explain to them that we get more breaks but they still thought it was weirder that we started earlier because it just shortens our summer,” says Serenity Harvey-Dick, Grade Seven student.
For families, though, it can make vacationing easier.
“It also allows students to take breaks with their parents,” Ross says. “Certainly at that time holidays can be a little less expensive than they may have been, so certainly some folks take advantage of that.”
Ernest Cumberland is the only school in the board that runs on the modified system and there are no plans to add others. As for other schools, they get back to class in two weeks.
