A pattern seems to be developing for area school systems trying to fall in line with Gov. Larry Hogan’s mandate on school start and end dates.
Tag: spring break
Baltimore County Schools Also Cut Spring Break for 2017-18 School Year
AACo. Schools Cut 2018 Spring Break to Follow Hogan’s Calendar Mandate
Anne Arundel County students and families should make this school year’s spring break count. In order to comply with Gov. Larry Hogan’s order that schools start after Labor Day and end before June 15, Anne Arundel County is making some controversial schedule cuts for 2017-18.
Alternative Spring Break
If you’re of a certain age, spring break is probably a distant memory. But most of us have someone in our life who’ll be taking a week or two off this month to rest and get away from the rigors of academia. While the phrase “spring break” comes with plenty of cultural connotations, the United Way has created a variety of programs that help students to spend their vacation giving back a bit—even while they soak up some sun and enjoy the company of their peers. “Alternative Spring Break” is just that—a spring break that offers an alternative to the usual debauchery; students participate in service projects (an alternative to say, beer pong tournaments) but still engage in plenty of social and cultural experiences with like-minded students from around the country.
Spring Break in Baltimore
Every year, I approach spring break with a mixture of guilt and dread.
The pangs of guilt come from knowing I’m not taking my kids on some fabulous trip to a ski or beach resort, as are many parents of kids in their classes. More guilt piles up because I tend to work, or at least attempt to, during spring break. As a freelancer I rarely take vacation; it’s hard to say no to clients. Another barrier to traveling during spring break is the absence of my husband, who coaches high school baseball and heads to South Carolina during the break for some mega baseball tournament. That leaves at home me, my son and my daughter, whose ideas of a perfect vacation are worlds apart.
Watching Orioles spring training sounds like heaven to my son, hell to my daughter. Sitting on the beach and collecting sea shells is my daughter’s idea of the perfect day; a complete bore to my son. What they have in common? Teasing and tormenting one another.
So, stuck in Baltimore, I wish for—at the very least—spring-like weather, even though it’s not yet officially spring. Today, the wind is gusting up to 50 miles an hour, making it feel below freezing. Great. My son doesn’t even want to go outside and shoot hoops it’s so cold. So he takes out his energy on his sister. They nudge each other and bicker and chase and kick. I try yelling. Tuning out seems to work better. But I can’t ignore them completely. More guilt.
Spring Trends for Kids: Advice from Wee Chic
Well, winter storm or no, spring break is just around the corner. Which means that spring proper should be following soon (we hope). With the kids home from school for a week and the seasons beginning to change, spring break means spring shopping for many parents. It’s like back-to-school’s half birthday (if that make sense to anyone else).
So, who better to give us the scoop on trends for the younger set (or youngest, as the case may be) than Bridget Quinn Stickline? The owner of Wee Chic Boutique — Baltimore’s fab place for children’s clothing– answered all of our burning questions (and more) about children’s fashion, spring trends, and why you should take your child with you when you shop for them (gasp–we, know).
Overnight Parenting Adventure: Spring Break Mega-Challenge
University of Baltimore Asst. Prof. and Bohemian Rhapsody Columnist Marion Winik experiences spring break 2012, with all three of her kids in the picture, which may or may not involve the breaking of her house.
If you have reached this level, you have worked your way through decades of preparation. This challenge will require all your skills, as it involves a young child living in the home (“Nipsey”), an older child visiting from college for spring break (“El Capitan”), and the off-screen interference of a third piece of malware, the oldest child, who lives in an apartment full of big-screen TVs and drunken 23-year-olds in another part of town (“Donald Trump”).
There are no other adults on the premises for the duration of this challenge, which begins late in the evening when you are already tired. Like the contestants in The Hunger Games, crawl over to the cornucopia and get whatever weapons you think you may need. Just remember that unlike those kids in the movie, you win only if everyone lives.
10 pm: Bedtime My Foot
Your troubles begin gradually, when Nipsey and her friend staying overnight unleash the usual demands. They want to sleep on the floor in the living room, they want to watch Twilight, they are hungry, they aren’t tired — in fact, they are squealing with manic energy. In addition to the ordinary reasons for opposing these requests, you know that El Capitan and his girlfriend Blondie will be returning from their bar tour eventually, possibly with friends, and will require the living room.
Your resistance is met by your pre-adolescent opponent with a bitter torrent of tears, snooty facial expressions, and melodramatic incriminations. The successful parent must now bellow threats (“I’m calling
