Head of School's Message: February 3
For the 2020-2021 school year starting Wednesday, September 1, there will be changes in the school calendar (outlined below), and the school day for grades K-2 will be extended by an hour and end at 3:00 p.m.
For the 2020-2021 school year starting Wednesday, September 1, there will be changes in the school calendar (outlined below), and the school day for grades K-2 will be extended by an hour and end at 3:00 p.m.
A list of key dates for the 2020-2021 school year will be sent next week, but the major changes are as follows:
Chandler will be closed for Thanksgiving Week with Grandparents and Special Friends Day celebrated on the Friday before Thanksgiving. The days lost during Thanksgiving week will be regained with a shorter February break. These changes align Chandler’s vacations with most independent schools in Pasadena and provide some extra time around Thanksgiving to take occupancy of the new building.
- Grandparents' and Special Friends' Day - Friday, November 20
- Thanksgiving Week – School Closed Monday, November 23 – Friday, November 27
- Winter Break – School Closed Friday, February 12 - Tuesday, February 16
The decision to extend the school day by an hour is driven by Chandler’s mission. The extra hour gives us more scheduling options to ensure that Chandler’s lower elementary grade students (K-2) have access to the new building to support part of their curriculum.
The intention is not to fill the extra hour with academic content, but rather to reimagine the pace of the day and to build in more time for unstructured play and creative activities into the K-2 schedule. The afterschool program will become a three hour rather than a four-hour program. Chess, fencing and instrumental music will remain part of the Afterschool program offered from 3:00 p.m.
We know that lower school parents have appreciated the opportunity for K-2 students to complete their homework in Afterschool homework club between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. Lower School Director Emily Brown and the Lower School faculty will be exploring ways to incorporate ‘homework time’ into the new schedule.
Considering that 70% of K-2 families currently participate in the Afterschool program, extending the school day by an hour will have a limited impact in terms of time-at-school. Still, we know it will be a change that will require some adjustments.
Please call me or send me an e-mail if you have any questions.
