We may only be halfway through 2014-2015, but the Palliser Board of Trustees is already looking ahead to 2016-2017.
In keeping with its recent practice, the board is considering a divisional school year calendar two years ahead to give its families more time to plan for back to school and Christmas breaks.
At its regular meeting Feb. 10, the board reviewed a draft calendar for 2016-2017 which will now be circulated to school administrators for feedback from staff and school councils. For a copy of the draft, click here. While the divisional calendar creates a template for schools to follow, there can be key differences between the division calendar and school calendars, including site-based PD days and even Easter break. For example, Calgary schools take a week-long break at the end of March, in keeping with other Calgary schools. Time off at Easter for those schools may be limited to a long weekend. Palliser's Hutterite colony and Low German Mennonite schools adopt a calendar that respects religious holidays, such as Ascension.
The division calendar does set some dates in common at all Palliser schools including the start of the school year, the last day for students in June, Christmas break, and four division-wide professional development days when teachers from across Palliser meet to collaborate.
For more news from the Feb. 10 board meeting, please click here for a PDF of highlights. Highlights, agendas and the approved minutes of past meetings can be found in our Trustees section of the website.