Stoughton School Committee Meeting Notes: 2012-2013 School Calendar Approved

2012-2013 School Calendar

There are about five months left in the current school year, but at Tuesday’s School Committee Meeting, the board unanimously approved a preliminary calendar for the 2012-2013 school year, which has school starting after Labor Day and ending less than a week before July 4th if all snow days are used.

While some key dates were not discussed and an official calendar has not been drafted, the calendar the School Committee agreed to has students in grades 1-12 returning to school on Wednesday, Sept. 5. Teachers return the day before on Sept. 4 for preparation and professional development. A start date for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten hasn't been finalized.

The last day of school, including the five built in snow days, would be Friday, June 28, 2013. The last day without the snow days would be Friday, June 21, 2013.

Teachers will have a second professional development day on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 6., closing school for students as residents head to the polls that day.

Winter vacation is slated for Dec. 22 until Jan. 1, 2013. The last day of school before winter break is Friday, Dec. 21. School reopens Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013.

Other key dates mentioned in a memo regarding the proposed 2012-2013 calendar:

• School will be closed Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 17-18, for Rosh Hashanah

• School will be closed on Wednesday, Sept. 26, for Yom Kippur

• School will be closed on Monday, Oct. 8, for Columbus Day

• School will be closed on Monday, Nov. 12, for Veteran’s Day

• School will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2013 for Good Friday.

All other holidays and vacation periods are “traditional,” according to the memo. February vacation is the week of Presidents’ Day and April Vacation is the week of Patriots’ Day.

The School Committee chose to vote on the Superintendent’s calendar recommendation. Superintendent of School’s Dr. Marguerite Rizzi told the committee that the Stoughton Teachers Association Executive Board had drafted a calendar that in an effort to have the school year end on an earlier date, eliminated the days off for the Jewish Holidays and Good Friday.

Dr. Rizzi said it was a “worthy discussion,” but one that needed a “great deal” of community input before making the decision to adopt that calendar model.

The School Committee agreed and voted to approve the traditional calendar model for 2012-2013, which includes days off for those religious holidays. 

Looking for this year’s calendar? A copy of the can be found .

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Statements of Interest Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Dr. Rizzi told the School Committee on Tuesday that the to rebuild or renovate Stoughton High School and the South Elementary School have been signed by the required parties and have been submitted to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) prior to the MSBA’s deadline.

Submitting an SOI is the first step in a lengthy process for replacing or renovating a school—it allows a school system to enter into dialogue with the MSBA.

According to the Statements of Interest, once the SOIs have been submitted, the school department plans to present an article at the 2012 Annual Town Meeting to fund a feasibility study for both schools.

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College Acceptances Rolling in

Dr. Rizzi shared with School Committee members that close to 50 students in the Class of 2012 have already been accepted at more than 30 different colleges.

Students will continue to receive in the coming months, but a list of the schools Stoughton students have been accepted to so far can be found (provided by the Stoughton High Guidance Department).