The Southeast Cornerstone and Holy Family School Divisions, which cover most of the schools in the southeast corner of Saskatchewan, jointly approved the calendar for the 2020-21 school year.
The teaching staff of both school divisions were asked for their input on the calendar, and the option chosen was approved by 82 per cent of the teachers, said Lynn Little, education director for Cornerstone.
The second option presented to staff was chosen, and is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Education to ensure it is in compliance with the Education Act regulations.
It will also be subject to any restrictions that may still be in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Classes were shut down in mid-March when a state of emergency was declared for Saskatchewan due to the pandemic.
The Act requires that calendars must provide for a minimum of 950 hours of instructional time to all students.
With the option chosen, teachers will be back in the schools to start preparing for the new school year on Tuesday, Aug. 25, and the first full day of class for students will be Tuesday, Sept. 1, prior to Labour Day, which is on Monday, Sept. 7 this year.
Schools will have from Dec. 21 to Jan. 1 off for the Christmas-New Year’s holidays, with classes resuming on Jan. 4, 2021, with the February break on Feb. 15-19, and the Easter break from Friday, April 2 to April 9.
The last day of class will be Monday, June 28, 2021. The calendar provides for a total of 184 student days and 13 non-instructional days, for a total of 197 days in the school year.
