Monday, January 24, 2011

USA High School System


USA High School System?
Okay, so I'm from Australia and I'm writing a story based in America, where the students attend American schools. I like to be thorough when writing, so I was just wondering when the major events take place (dates) ? For example; When the school year starts? When/what the holidays are? When Homecoming/Prom/Other major events are? And any other major events that normal American Teens partake in in highschool? Thankyou :) PS; I understand that not all schools are the same and therefore there will not be an EXACT date to these events, but if you can give me something like say, "Beginning of march" or "End of september," somewhere AROUND about when it takes place, that would be perfect.
Primary & Secondary Education - 3 Answers
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1 :
I go to school in Massachusetts. School starts in the beginning of September, and we get out around the end of June. We get out of school for the majority of the holidays. (Somewhat of an order) Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, Presidents Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, We normally get a week to two weeks for Christmas vacation, There is also April and February vacations. Other main holidays, we get off. As for Homecoming; that is normally the last Home game for the team. It is a big event, especially for Seniors. I had my homecoming last night and I painted my body in my school colors. The football players ran threw a huge decorated sheet of paper, everyone went crazy There are two proms, Junior Prom (May/ a month or so before Senior Prom) and Senior Prom. It is a huge event. Limos, dresses, tuxedos, everything. It's like a wedding, for high school kids. Senior Prom is usually held at the end of Senior year. (May/June) There are also Pep rallies, where all the sports teams are announced and the rest of the school dresses up in school colors and cheers on the players. It's like a spirit day. These are normally held before Homecoming. Hope this helps, anything else, feel free to email me!
2 :
starts: Early September, may be before or after Labor Day About every 2 months there is a vacation: A half week off for Thanksgiving (November 26, for 2009) Christmas Vacation which is obviously around the 25th of December, Winter vacation in February, and spring vacation in April. Summer Vacation starts in the middle of June, and ends in September (the beginning again), in total there are 180 days of school. Major Holidays (the ones that we don't have to go to school for): September 7th, Labor day; October 12, Columbus Day; November 11th, Veteran's Day; January 18th, Martin Luther King Day (he was the foremost civil-rights leader int he U.S, and was later assasinated); May 31, Memorial Day. (I did not include Thanksgiving since that is included in the vacations part). Prom for Juniors and Seniors are held in late spring, normally early May. Mid-terms and Finals (testing) takes place in January and June, they are on the last week of the 2nd and 4th quarter of the school year and mark the end of the 1st and 2nd semester. School dances take place throughout the year.
3 :
Interesting ... School year starts dependent upon the state and federal laws ... usually in mid to late August, although it is supposed to start after Labor Day, first weekend in September. The holidays are usually the common ones ... try a major school district's website and you will have access to the district's calendar which will provide a lot of the data you are asking. Homecoming is in the Fall, Prom in the Spring and there is usually a Winter Dance of some sort in most schools in December, January, or February. There are other events like fairs, beauty pageants, parades, etc. but these depend on the individual district in area. The major change between Australia and the USA is that the USA has 57 different groups that determine how schools operate, it is not centralized. Each state runs it's own school program and each district in the state has some autonomy. There are some district websites listed below ... Hope this helped ...
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