The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, as part of the school education reform, proposes to make changes to the educational process. The reforms will affect curriculum and children's development. In addition, changes can be expected in the structure of the academic year, which many consultants and advisers recommend dividing into trimesters. Until this year, all public and most private schools divided the academic year into semesters.
Qualified experts are confident that this reform of the school curriculum is very important for the correct distribution of educational time. It will make it possible to make the periods of study between short week-long holidays almost identical. Such organization of the educational process for school-age children will allow teachers and administration of educational institutions to more harmoniously distribute the educational load on the student.
| Class | Amount of time for additional work when studying subjects in full-time school mode |
|---|---|
| 1 | - |
| 2 | 45 min |
| 3 | 1 hour 10 min |
| 4 | 1 hour 30 min |
| 5 | 2.5 hours |
| 6 | 2.5 hours |
| 7 | 3 hours |
| 8 | 3 hours |
| 9 | 3 hours |
| 10 | 4 hours |
| 11 | 4 hours |
However, the reform of the structure of the academic year, apparently, will not come into force until 2018. According to the letter of the Ministry of Education and Science dated June 7, 2017 No. 1/9-315 “About the structure of the 2017-2018 academic year”, classes in general education institutions, regardless of subordination, types and forms of ownership, should begin on Knowledge Day - September 1 and end no later than 1 July 2018.
The academic year 2017-2018 will be divided into 2 semesters:
- I semester - September 1 - December 22, 2017,
- II semester - January 10 - May 31, 2018.
When are the school holidays 2017-2018?
- Autumn holidays: October 30 - November 5, 2017,
- Winter holidays: December 25, 2017 - January 9, 2018,
- Spring break: March 26 - April 1, 2018,
- Summer holidays: from the end of the school year to August 31, 2018.
Vacations are the favorite time in the life of every schoolchild or student. Already on September 1, sharing their impressions of the past summer, the children begin to make plans for the next weeks and months free from school. A vacation schedule allows children and parents to plan their vacation in advance, making it meaningful and interesting.
The school year will traditionally begin for schoolchildren in 2017 with the Day of Knowledge, which is celebrated on September 1 and this academic year falls on Friday. Of the 273 days of the 2017-2018 school year, 167 days the children will have to actively absorb new knowledge. The remaining 106 are allocated for vacations, holidays and weekends. On May 26, 2018, for schoolchildren who do not pass the Unified State Exam or Unified State Exam, the summer holiday period will begin.
The holiday calendar for students and schoolchildren is developed annually by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, but it is only advisory in nature and may be changed by decision of the pedagogical council of a particular school. Therefore, the exact vacation schedule for the year must be checked with the educational institution where your child is studying. The decision of the teachers' council can only increase the number of days off for children. The grounds for providing additional days off from school are usually:
- frosts, at a temperature of -25°C, classes at primary schools are canceled, at -28°C there are no classes in secondary schools and at -30°C, in high schools;
- cold in classrooms, classes are prohibited at temperatures below +18°C inside classrooms;
- exceeding the epidemic threshold for diseases and introducing quarantine.
Quarantine can be introduced in a region, city or district by decision of the administration, upon the recommendations of the local health department.
Additional holidays are provided for first-graders. This makes it easier for kids to adapt to new conditions. Children are usually given additional rest in the middle of the third, longest school term. The decision on the time and amount of additional rest is made by the teaching council of the educational institution.
Autumn
After a long summer holiday, it is difficult for children to maintain a busy academic rhythm for a long time. Autumn holidays allow you to relax a little and take a break. In many regions, autumn holidays fall on the last days of the “golden autumn”. This academic year the holidays will last from October 30 to November 7. In 9 days you can get a lot of bright autumn impressions.
Winter
The January holidays for every child are a period of waiting for a miracle and a little New Year's fairy tale. A decorated Christmas tree, fun sledding and ice skating, Christmas gifts or a trip with parents from snowy winter to bright summer, every schoolchild will find something interesting for themselves on their free winter days. You can accomplish a lot in 14-16 days. Winter holidays will begin on December 28, 2017 and end on January 10, then the longest academic quarter will begin. Depending on the school, the rest may be a little earlier, for example from 12/23/17 to 01/8/18, or vice versa later.
Contrary to rumors, the New Year holidays will not be canceled in 2018.
Spring
Many schoolchildren look forward to spring break with special impatience. Winter is behind us and most of the school year is behind us. The bright spring sun is already warming up. A little more and the long-awaited summer will come. Spring break is scheduled from March 24 to April 1, 2018. 9 days of spring rest will allow you to gain strength for the successful completion of the school year.
Summer
The last bell marks the end of school for graduates, and for everyone else it is a signal for the beginning of the longest and most exciting period of summer vacation. They will begin on May 28 and end on August 31. Schoolchildren who have completed 9th grade go on vacation at the end of June. On September 1, tanned, mature students will return to school to continue their studies.
This schedule is relevant for schools that teach children in quarters.
Holidays in trimester schools
In schools with modular education, the curriculum is divided into trimesters (three parts per year, instead of four), a 5-week study period alternates with a week of rest. Winter and summer holidays in these educational institutions follow the usual schedule for all children. Recent studies show that this schedule is optimal for children.
Holidays
The days of public holidays on which the entire population of the country rests are determined by a decision of the State Duma. Some of them give schoolchildren additional days off, for example February 23 and March 8, while others fall during school holidays.
Student holidays
With the holidays, students are becoming increasingly sad: students are not provided with autumn and spring holidays. Each university determines the start and end period of study sessions independently. Typically, student winter holidays take place in late January and early February, and summer holidays begin in July. Sometimes the summer vacation time for students is shortened; after passing the required tests and exams, future specialists go to practice.
The holidays are a welcome time for children and a period of increased excitement for parents. Try to plan your child’s vacation so that he is not left to his own devices, find an interesting activity for the child during the vacation period, send him to a health camp, place him in a sports section, a camp at a school or a club.
A child, and especially a teenager, who does not know what to do with himself, can easily find himself in an unpleasant situation. Teach your child how to spend his free time profitably. And remember, no matter how many right words you say, personal example has the most powerful impact on a child.
All responsibility for the safety of the child during the holidays falls on the parents. Do not overburden your child with additional activities. Remember yourself as a child! Try to give your child the opportunity to gain new experiences, because they are the most vivid in childhood!
Vacations are a long-awaited time for any student. Many people begin to want to take a break from classes from the first days of the term. Schoolchildren actively make plans for their free time, especially high school students who do not have much of it.
Parents are also not lagging behind - many of them try to take time off during the holidays to spend time with their children. Therefore, knowing in advance what dates the holidays fall on is important for many.
Check out the school holiday schedule
Depending on the school's operating hours, the holidays take place at different times, coinciding only with the New Year holidays.
Please select which one education system your school is working.
How are vacation dates determined?
The holiday calendar is determined by the Department of Education. However, there are pitfalls here. In particular, the established dates are advisory.
That is, the administration of educational institutions has the right to independently adjust the vacation schedule in accordance with the curriculum or any other internal factors. However, the changed dates should not be shifted more than two weeks from the official holiday dates.
Another reason for differences in vacation schedules is different forms of education. Some schools traditionally study in quarters, while others have switched to a more modern modular system - education in trimesters. Accordingly, the vacation schedule differs, and the Department of Education gives separate recommendations on dates.
Question about one-time holidays
The permissible freedom in setting the vacation schedule is the reason that in Moscow, St. Petersburg and the regions they often do not take place simultaneously. The question of whether this is correct has been actively discussed lately. One-time holidays would make it more convenient to hold various events for schoolchildren, including Olympiads. True, they have not yet reached a common opinion, and apparently, schools do not want to lose their privilege to determine the rest time for students themselves.
Vacations in secondary vocational education institutions
- Winter holidays: from December 30, 2019 to January 12, 2020.
- Summer holidays: from June 29, 2020 to August 31, 2020.
Vacations in higher education institutions
- Winter holidays: from January 25 to February 9, 2020.
- Summer holidays: at least 35 days according to the approved educational process schedule.
In addition to planned holidays, school classes may be
The most anticipated period in 2017 for all schoolchildren is the summer holidays. However, not only children, but also adults are waiting for them: we all dream of getting away somewhere in the warm month, relaxing, and changing the environment. For the younger generation, changes of this kind also couldn’t come at a better time. Modern pressures at school do not allow us to experience the lightness and freedom characteristic of childhood throughout the year. That’s why the kids are looking forward to the summer so they can have fun, swim and sleep during the remaining nine months of school.
Summer holidays 2017 - schedule
When will summer holidays begin for schoolchildren in 2017 in Russia? In this article you will learn about the terms and schedule of holidays in the Russian Federation during the specified period.
It should be noted that summer holidays begin from the last Friday in May - from the last bell at school. In 2017, the last school Friday falls on May 26th. Therefore, the summer holidays will begin from the very next day. Thus, the timing of summer holidays in the Russian Federation is from May 27 to September 1, 2017 .
Who sets the dates for summer holidays in 2017
Each educational institution in Russia reserves the right to change the start and end dates of the academic year depending on its own characteristics. Traditionally, the academic year begins on September 1, and this is the date that most educational institutions adhere to, not only in our country, but also in many other countries. It is noteworthy that September 1 in 2017 falls on the last working day of the week – Friday. Few schools, lyceums and gymnasiums will decide to start classes on this date. Therefore, the summer holidays will most likely be extended by as much as three days, and classes will begin no earlier than September 4 - Monday.
Recreation for schoolchildren during the summer holidays 2017
According to the rules established by Russian legislation, during the summer period schoolchildren must rest for at least 90 calendar days. 
Why was such a long period of time chosen specifically for the summer period, and not, say, winter, when it is especially cold, or spring, during which most diseases worsen? The answer lies in antiquity, when decisions were only made about the construction of training time. In the days of church schools, initially children studied all year round. But later it was noticed that in the summer, children attend school less often, because they spend a lot of time helping adults (previously, every person who could help with everyday life or working in the field was worth his weight in gold). Therefore, in order for children to be less distracted from the school process, during periods of particularly active sowing, as well as during the period of caring for and harvesting the harvest, children were allowed not to attend classes at school. Later, this period was called summer vacation and introduced to the level of the state norm, with which we are all familiar from childhood.
The third quarter is the longest and, perhaps, the most intense of all components of the academic year. Therefore, a well-deserved break from study, and this is what the spring holidays are, is oh so necessary for schoolchildren and teachers! Graduates will be able to take a little break from school lessons and make the final push in preparation for the Unified State Exam and the Unified State Exam, while the rest of the students will simply sleep longer, take a walk in the fresh air, engage in outdoor games or creativity. And yet, the question of when the long-awaited spring break of the 2018 academic year will be is of concern to all participants in the educational process.
Spring break from studies in quarters
The Law “On Education of the Russian Federation” states that an educational institution can independently choose a system for organizing training and set rest periods. This suggests that the educational organization itself decides how to study - in quarters or trimesters. And accordingly, set breaks for students.
If the school studies in quarters, then this means that there are four quarters, different in duration.
- 1st quarter – 8 weeks.
- 2nd quarter – 8 weeks.
- 3rd quarter – 10 weeks (for first grades); 11 weeks (for grades 2–11).
- 4th quarter – 8 weeks (for grades 1–4, 9 and 11); 9 weeks (for grades 5–8, 10).
If the school's study schedule includes quarters, then all vacations are divided in accordance with the seasons of the year, which include the students' rest days:
- Autumn vacation.
- Winter.
- Spring rest days.
- Long summer break from studies.
The schedule of days off from school in schools is left to the discretion of regional education authorities, and sometimes the right to set vacation dates is given to the head of the educational institution - the school principal. Therefore, in principle, there is no general vacation schedule for the entire country.
There is a reason for this policy of the Ministry of Education. Russia is a country of vast territories, and in many cases it is better known locally when it is best to set holidays for children. Only a few rules remain common to the entire country, which relate to the number of rest days for schoolchildren during the school year.
Approximate table of school holidays (by quarters):
| № | Holidays | Dates |
| 1 | Autumn | 28.10. 2017–5.11. 2017 |
| 2 | Winter | 28.12.2017–8.01.2018 |
| 3 | Spring | 24.03.2018–1.04.2018 |
| 4 | Summer | 1.06.2018–31.08.2018 |
Consequently, after the longest 11-week third quarter, there are spring rest days for secondary school students.
Here are some examples of when the spring holidays of the 2017-2018 school year will begin in different cities of the country according to documents adopted by local educational departments:
- Moscow - from April 1 to 8.
- St. Petersburg - from March 24 to April 1.
Sometimes spring break dates may be moved or canceled due to quarantine during winter flu epidemics. This is done to ensure that students have time to complete the curriculum.
Spring break according to the trimester system
Another nuance regarding the holidays is related to the fact that some Russian schools (and, of course, the majority of them) continue to divide the academic year into the usual four quarters, but there are also those in which the year is divided into trimesters. In schools with three trimesters, vacations are provided not only at the end of the trimester, but also in its middle, so vacations in schools with different forms of organizing the educational process coincide only in the summer and on the new year. In autumn and spring they diverge quite noticeably.
As for schools that use trimesters, the bulk of them are located in Moscow and the Moscow region, so we turn to the order of the capital’s Department of Education to clarify when spring holidays begin and end in such schools:
- From February 18 to 25 there will be holidays, which can be called both late winter and early spring.
- from April 8 to April 15 - spring vacation in such schools.
Please note that holidays from February 18 to February 25 are also provided in Moscow for first-graders in schools that use the traditional four-quarter teaching mode.
When is your child's vacation? Contact the school!
An important piece of advice that can be given if you are interested in spring break is to check the start and end dates at your school. As a rule, such information is published on the school’s website. If there is no such information there, you can check the dates of the holidays with the school secretary or your child’s class teacher. Of course, this will be especially useful if, for example, you are planning a family vacation or some other trips during your child’s vacation.
Nowadays it is very fashionable for teenagers to create their own vlogs and post videos on various social networks. An example of such a vlog by one of our compatriots who left for America with their parents can be seen in the video: