Changes approved for Seymour school calendar

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The Seymour Community School Corp. board of trustees has approved recommended changes to its 2020-21 school calendar due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Most changes involve eliminating built-in snow days and extending breaks and vacations, said Assistant Superintendent Lisa Ferguson.

The Indiana Department of Education recommended all school corporations review and revise their calendars to strategically use breaks at times for potential peaks of COVID-19 and influenza, Ferguson said during a school board meeting Tuesday night.

Opening day for students will remain Aug. 10, and schools will be closed for Labor Day on Sept. 7.

The first major change comes in October. Since the Seymour Oktoberfest has been canceled this year, school now will be in session Oct. 2. That previously scheduled day off has been added to fall break, making it three days instead of two, from Oct. 14 to 16.

Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations also are being extended, giving students a full week off in November and three full weeks off at the end of December into January 2021.

Thanksgiving vacation now will be from Nov. 23 to 27, two days longer than previously scheduled, and Christmas vacation will be Dec. 21 to Jan. 8, 2021, one day longer.

Trustee Jeff Joray said he would liked to have seen fall break extended a full week because it’s a cheaper time for families to travel than during the holidays.

To extend breaks, all four built-in snow makeup days have been eliminated from the calendar. In the event of inclement weather, the corporation will utilize eLearning days and students will complete their schoolwork online.

“Having the experience of using eLearning in the spring, we feel we are in a position to use eLearning days if we have bad weather,” Ferguson said.

In the newly revised calendar, school will be closed Jan. 18 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Spring break has not been changed and will remain March 22 to 26. The last day of school will be May 28, and Seymour High School’s graduation remains June 6.

Ferguson said the calendar committee was mindful not to move dates of breaks and vacations and instead just extended them because many families make plans to travel a year in advance.

The calendar, however, is subject to change based on local or state guidance or mandates due to COVID-19 or any other public emergency, Ferguson said.

The school calendar committee consists of Ferguson, Seymour High School Principal Greg Prange, teachers Jenni Hunnicutt, Brad Cobb and Lizz Patterson, Margaret R. Brown Elementary Principal Tony Hack, school board trustee Nancy Franke and technology specialist Scott Gray.

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Seymour Community School Corp. 2020-21 school calendar COVID-19 revisions

Aug. 6: First teacher day

Aug. 7: Teacher day

Aug. 10: Opening day for students

Sept. 7: Labor Day, no school

Oct. 9: End of first grading period

Oct. 14 to 16: Fall break, no school

Nov. 23 to 27: Thanksgiving vacation, no school

Dec. 18: Last day of first semester

Dec. 21 to Jan. 8: Christmas vacation, no school

Jan. 8: First day back for teachers

Jan. 11: First day back for students

Jan. 18: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, no school

March 12: End of third grading period

March 22 to 26: Spring break, no school

May 28: Last day for students

June 1: Last day for teachers

June 6: Seymour High School graduation

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