Late Start To 2020-21

Schedule pickup: Aug. 12-13 Transition day: Thursday, Aug. 20 First day of first semester: Monday, Aug. 24 Fall break: Oct. 26-30 Winter break: Dec. 23- Jan.4, 2021 First semester finals: Jan. 13-15, 2021 First day of second semester: Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021 Spring break: March 22-26, 2021 Second semester finals: May 26-28, 2021 Graduation: June 5, 2021

schedule shake-up

8Page by Kayla Reyes

DISCOVER LATER START: Students walk down the hall near the student parking lot entrance in late August 2019. Due to a new law passed by the Missouri state legislature, the school year may not being earlier than 14 calendar days prior to Labor Day. PHOTO BY FAITH CARTER

First semester finals pushed to January on 2020-21 calendar

By Bobby Pordea Staff Reporter

In the upcoming year, FHSD will see a change to the schedule of the new school year. Due to “input solicited from various stakeholders within the district,” the school year will start later than normal, according to FHSD. Instead of starting in late July or early August, FHSD schools will start in late August. The new change comes to new laws being passed by the Missouri state legislature. The first day of the 2020-2021 school year is going will be Aug. 20, and the last day of the school year will be May 28, 2021. The new school year schedule will consist of a week of fall break, winter break will consist of nearly two weeks, and spring break will consist of a week. All other normal holidays and breaks will follow they’re normal schedule. Graduation will take place on June 5 and the allocated snow days will be 1-14 of June, meaning seniors next year might have their graduation before the final day of school, depending on the weather. Semester one exams will take place Jan. 14-16, 2021, meaning they will be taken after winter break.

Spanish teacher Caitlin Crain said she’s going to spend plenty of time reviewing when students return from winter break.

“I know that I, I did this in high school. so I had, I always had finals after break,” Mrs. Crain said. “But it was hard to keep up so I want to give enough review time after break, so that way, everybody feels confident going into finals.

Crain was also concerned about the limited amount of time teachers will have to transition from first semester to second.

“there’s not a lot of grading time for finals,” Mrs. Crain said. “Because we have a three-day weekend next year because it’s before Martin Luther King Day and then Saturday and Sunday. So that’s not a lot of grading time to get final grades, and then gonna start fresh that next Tuesday.”

In the upcoming year, the school year schedule will change, however, sports will start at their regular scheduled time. Dean of Students Ashley Mair said the first day of practice will fall on Aug. 12. Activities Director Scott Harris said for sports, he thinks the later start will be a positive thing for new studentathletes getting acclimated to the school and whatever program they want to join.

“I think kids coming in early, starting to practice before school starts means they’re allowed to meet classmates, they’re allowed to meet coaches, they’re allowed to get acclimated to, you know, a commitment,” Mr. Harris said. “You’re also getting out of bed early for morning practices that might ease the transition to starting school.”

There are many ways to keep up with the change in the new schedule, according to Mrs. Mair.

“Make sure that they are following coaches, and Scott Harris on Twitter, because they’re gonna send out all the updates for activities,” Mrs. Mair said.