When does your child's school year begin?

Here in Ireland, the school year starts in september. There is a mid term break of one week at the end of October and then another two weeks for Christmas holidays. There is another mid term break of one week, in February followed be two weeks holidays at Easter. The vocational schools start the summern holidays at the end of May and the primary schools close at the end of June.

Here in New York the kids have summer vacation from the end of June until the beginning of September. The actual date is different each year but they go back the day or too after Labor day. During the year they have many other vacation days. several in November for Thanksgiving and about a week to ten days for christmas and there is another week in the spring around April.

My youngest will be starting school about February 15 (in Tasmania, Australia). What really gets me is the 'student free days' they have in the year. Why can't the teachers do that sort of thing in the school holidays? Why do they need an extra day? One of the student free days is the day after the Hobart Show or Regatta Day (Can't remember which). Why do they need it to be like that? Student free day on a Friday, after a public holiday. Sounds like a rort to me.

Our school year here started on August 14th. Then they were just out for a little over two weeks for the winter break. They will be out again for a week for Spring Break. School officially ends for summer break on May 28th.

Where I live in the U.S. my kids go to school all year long, they attend school from two in a half to three months then they are out for three weeks. We do this all year. They are on tracks and that is what determins when they will go to class and when they will be out. When they are in class it is called on track and when they are out we call it off track.

In India,there are two sessions of holidays.One in summer and another in winter.Summer session is of one and half month and the winter is of ten days.Children feels better in summer.