The full day of conferences proved, in fact, to be a huge hit for all involved. The atmosphere of the day was significantly different and improved as compared to the old, half-day format. Everyone was focused--yet in a relaxed way--on a day of substantive, meaningful meetings. We are retaining the full day of fall conferences in 2010-11, but we are wrestling with whether to keep the day on the Friday before the AIMS Conference. Some parents took advantage of the four-day weekend to travel, thereby eliminating the possibility of having their conference on the designated day. We may put the Conference Day on the Friday after AIMS Day.
As for the rest of the 2010-11 calendar, we will have the required (by the State) 170 days of school, plus a few extra days scheduled for inclement weather closings. (Not that Calvert EVER closes for snow!). We generally like to "start early and end early," under the philosophy that a day in early September is worth more than a day in early/mid June. By basically rolling over the 2009-10 calendar into 2010-11 (same length of vacations, professional development days, etc.), it looks like we may start on Tuesday, August 31, and finish with Graduation on Friday, June 3. That is not official yet, however. More details to follow!
