Summer vacation

Summer vacation (also called six weeks holiday, summer holidays (UK) or summer break) is a vacation in the summertime between school years in which students and instructors are off school typically between 6 and 12 weeks, depending on the country and district.

Students

In some countries, students participate in programs such as organized sports, summer camps, and attend summer schools. They may also hang out with friends. High school students sometimes visit college and university campuses but that usually occurs during college weekend or spring break. It is also typical for teenagers to get a job during the summer vacation in order to raise some money. Many parents take time off work, in order to go on a family vacation during the summer. Some churches have a program called Vacation Bible School to educate students about the Christian religion with a laid back atmosphere in the summer. Local libraries may have activities to help students brush up on reading. Students during the summer may do summer recreational activities, take up new hobbies and develop new interests, travel, and many other things. Many counties have their county fair or carnival which gives the opportunity for students to congregate before school starts. At the end of the summer vacation, back to school shopping gives students opportunity to make an impression to their peers on the first day of school with new clothing, along with the time to get school supplies.

Criticisms and support

Canada and many other countries only get 2 months off because students supposedly forget large amounts of information learned in the past year (See: Summer learning loss).

Other education reformers believed that children were overstimulated in a system which required 48 weeks of schooling. They believe that over-schooling could lead to nervous disorders, depression, and insanity. They believe that children need the 2–3 months off to relax and also to take a break from other childhood stresses associated with school such as peer pressure, cliques, bullying, and the pressure of heavy loads of schoolwork and homework.

Some critics of summer vacation point out that American students spend approximately 180 days (9 months) per year in school, but Asian students are in school for 240 to 250 days. However, in certain Asian countries, like Singapore, students there from primary to secondary education get a week of holidays in March, a month in June, another week in September and a month and a half in November to December, meaning that Singaporean students spend around 200 days a year in school, not 240 to 250. This is consistent with the conclusions of researchers who suggest that advanced abilities are in proportion to the time spent learning. However,summer holidays in Japan last from late July until early September.

By country

• In Australia, the Summer season officially lasts from December to January, and therefore coincides with the Christmas and New Year holidays. The dates of Australian school holidays (the term used, rather than "vacation") are determined by each state's Department of Education, the Summer (also known as Christmas) holidays being the longest in duration. Typically Christmas or Summer holidays in Australia last approximately six weeks, usually from early December (depending on school year, see below) to the last few days of January. This is significantly shorter than the North American Summer vacation, but Australian schools also break for two weeks at Easter, and in June and September, giving students and teachers a total of twelve weeks of annual holidays. In many public schools, years 10 through 12 will finish before 20 December, allowing time to complete exam marking and results. Year 10 commonly finishes at the end of November, Year 11 at the end of October, and year 12 also at the end of October after 3 weeks of end-of-year exams. This can bring the normal 12 weeks of vacation to 20 weeks of vacation. The intervening periods of school operation are called "School Terms", each term lasting approximately ten weeks. All Australian states have relatively similar holiday periods, but there is the ability for this to change around, such as for the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth games, when the first term in Victorian schools was shortened to 6 weeks and the other subsequently extended to 12 weeks due to severe disruptions to the public and private bus networks used by school students. Most private schools in Australia have up to four weeks of additional holidays, due to their longer teaching hours during term.
• In Austria, summer vacation varies by region. School usually ends in late June, while in some schools the school year lasts until early July.
• In Belgium, summer lasts from July 1 until August 31 (2 months).
• In Brazil summer break starts in early December and ends in early February, sometimes being delayed until the week after Brazilian Carnival[1]. In some northern areas summer break follows the northern pattern in July and August^{[citation needed]}.
• In Bulgaria, summer vacation starts on June 15 and ends on September 15 (3 months)
• In Canada, the first day of summer vacation for public schools is the Thursday before the last Friday of June. This may vary in Quebec (re earlier due to provincial June 24 holiday). In some areas, that Thursday is a half-day. The last day of summer vacation is Labor Day. It can vary in Private schools. School generally resumes the day after Labor Day (in September). Most have a week off in October for Canadian Thanksgiving, two weeks off for Christmas and New Year, and at least a weeks off in March or April for Spring Break.
• In Chile, summer vacation lasts from mid-December to early March.
• Because of Colombia's equatorial climate (see Climate of Colombia for more information), schools run two different calendars. Most of the country runs "Calendar B" in which there is a long vacation from July to late August, but some schools run "Calendar A" with a long vacation around Christmas.
• In Croatia, the final exams are usually taken around June 15 and school begins on the first Monday in September.
• In the Czech Republic, summer holiday begins on July 1 and ends on August 31 (2 months).
• In Denmark, summer break lasts from the end of June to early or mid-August. High schools (colleges) usually return to school in early August, but for younger students it can be in the middle.
• In England and Wales, summer holidays usually mid- to late July for state schools, and last until early September – normally a duration of between five and six weeks. In addition, schools have three one-week-long half-term breaks (one at the end of October, one in mid February and one in late May) as well as two weeks off for Christmas and two weeks off for Easter – bringing the total number of weeks off per year to 13. Dates in the independent sector are likely to differ in that schools typically offer an extra week's holiday at the beginning and end of each of the long vacations – i.e. four weeks for Christmas and Easter and eight to ten weeks in summer.
• In Estonia, summer holidays start in the beginning of June, the date ranging for different grades. School begins every year on September 1.
• In Finland, summer vacation starts on Saturday in late May, or in the beginning of June. The vacation lasts for 2¹⁄₂ months. Usually, school starts again on August 14 to 20.
• In France, summer vacation usually consist of July and August (2 months).
• In Germany, summer vacation lasts six weeks. The exact dates vary between states, but are consistent within each state.
• In Greece, the summer vacation lasts for 3 months. Schools close on June 16 and reopen around September 11. Universities generally close mid-July but with great differences between faculties.
• In Hungary, summer vacation usually lasts from mid-June to the end of August.
• In Iceland the summer vacation starts May 28 if the winter vacation is not taken but if it is taken, the summer vacation starts June 4.
• In India, summer vacation varies. In northern India, school ends on May 1 and begins on July 1, while in southern India, school ends in the last week of March and begins in June. Some schools hold extra classes for 10th grade from May till June for students of classes preparing for Board exams.
• In Israel, summer vacation for junior high schools (7th–9th grade) and high schools (10th–12th grade) starts on June 21. Elementary schools (1st–6th grade) and kindergartens vacation starts on July 1st. It lasted till the end of August until 2011, but from 2012 will be shortened by five days and end on August 26.
• In Italy, summer vacation for elementary, middle and high school normally starts on the second week of June and lasts until the first week of September included, for a total of three months. For kindergartens, summer vacation starts at the beginning of July and lasts until the first week of September. Final term examinations for middle school and high school are held until the end of June.
• In Japan, the summer vacation generally lasts from late July to early September, and due to the way education in Japan is structured, it takes place within a school year.
• In the Jordan, summer vacation lasts almost 3 months and most schools take summer vacation from mid-June to mid-September.
• In Lebanon, summer vacation lasts almost 3 months and most schools take summer vacation from mid-June to mid-September.
• In Lithuania, school vacation runs from the start of June to the end of August (3 months).
• In Malaysia, final term examinations begin in October, sometimes in September. The term ends usually around November 15, and this marks the beginning of the vacation. A new term begins early in the new year. This applies to kindergarten, elementary and high schools.
• In Mexico, summer vacation usually starts in the final weeks of June and students return to school in late August. In addition, Mexican children get a week off in November for Fall Break, three weeks off for Christmas and New Year, and two weeks off in March or April for Spring Break.
• In Mongolia the summer vacation runs from the start of June to the last day of August (3 months).
• In the Netherlands, summer vacation is among the shortest in Europe. It usually starts in July (depending on the region) and lasts for 6 weeks.
• In New Zealand, the summer vacation for typically starts around the middle of December, and ends in late January. [2] Senior secondary school students in Year 12 finish in mid-November, and Year 10 finish at the end of November before the first NCEA exams.
• In Nigeria, summer vacation begins on June 1 and ends on August 31 (3 months). Students also take a winter break (December-January) and spring break (April).
• In Northern Ireland, most schools' summer vacation starts at the beginning of July and runs through to the start of September, except for students doing exams (GCSE and A-Levels), who get "Study-Leave" from the start of May and do the exams sometime in June, but still have the same Summer as those not doing exams.
• In Norway, summer vacation typically lasts from mid June to mid August, for a minimum of 8 weeks.
• In Pakistan, summer vacations lasts for two to three months depending on the type of school (public or private). On average there are 2 months of vacations from mid-June to mid-August.
• In the People's Republic of China, summer holidays start in early July and often end in early September (2 months).
• In the Philippines, summer holidays for kindergarten, elementary, and high schools typically start on the second week of March and end in the first week of June. This coincides with the country's tropical "summer" (dry season) months from March to May. Colleges and universities, however, offer summer classes for students who wants to take advanced subjects or those who fail to pass the prerequisites for the next school year. School year begins in the second week of June, the start of Philippines' wet season.
• In Poland, summer vacation starts on the first Saturday after 18 June and ends on the first weekday of September.
• In Portugal, summer vacation starts at the end of June, and finishes in the middle of September.
• In the Republic of Ireland, most secondary schools start summer holidays in the last week of May or first week in June and don't return until the first week in September. They also receive around two weeks for Easter and around another two weeks for Christmas and New Year, as well as another week around Halloween (called "Mid-Term") and another few days (usually 1 or 2) for St. Patrick's Day. Most schools also get every Bank Holiday off. Students doing exams (Junior Cert and Leaving Cert) have to come in some days during June to sit their exams but otherwise have the same break as those not doing exams. Primary schools in the Republic of Ireland follow the same pattern, though only get off for Summer at the end of June.
• In Russia, summer vacation starts on May 25 (for 1st–8th and 10th grades) and usually end on September 1. For 9th and 11th grades, due to exams (EGE), the vacation starts in the middle (9th grade) or in the end (11th grade) of June.
• In Romania, summer vacation starts on June 15 and ends on September 15 (3 months).
• In Saudi Arabia the summer vacation starts at the end of June and ends in the middle of September.
• In Scotland, school summer holidays can start from 27 June to 2 July, depending on the day of the week, and last for about six weeks, with most schools returning around 20 August. In addition to summer holidays, Scottish schools have one week in October, two weeks at Christmas and two weeks at Easter. They also have a week off in Mid-February. They have two bank holidays in May, and one in September. Scottish schools get the fewest days off in the whole of the United Kingdom.^{[citation needed]}
• In Singapore, summer holidays start on October 31 and end on January 31 (3 months).
• In Slovakia, summer break lasts from June 30 until September 1.
• In Slovenia, the final exams are usually taken on June 25 and school begins on September 1.
• In South Africa, summer holidays usually begin around early December and end during late January to early February. Winter Break lasts from June to July, and 10 days of Easter holidays.
• In South Korea, summer vacation starts from 3rd week of July. Schools reopen in the last week of August.
• In Spain, the school year finishes on June 22 and begins in early to mid-September. Vacation varies by region.
• In Sweden, summer vacation is between the spring and autumn term. It last from early June to mid/late August (a minimum of 10 weeks, differs for each county). In Sweden, students end their term, either at a church or in their school, singing traditional summer songs like Den blomstertid nu kommer (only the first 2 verses).
• In Turkey, summer vacation starts in mid-June and ends in mid-September (3 months).
• In Tunisia, summer vacation for the middle school (7th–9th grade) and high school starts on June 15 and ends on September 14. Primary schools are off to vacation on June 1 and end on September 14.
• In the United States, summer vacation lasts almost 3 months. The dates vary depending on the location of the school district, with two major formats. One is from mid-June to Labor Day,the other major format lasting from late May to late August. Both formats last approximately 12 weeks. Students also get a week off in November for American Thanksgiving, two weeks off for Christmas and New Year, and up to two weeks off in March or April for Spring Break (usually starting on Lazarus Saturday). In some schools, students also get a week off in February for President's Day and a week off in October for Fall Break (usually the week of Columbus Day).
• In Uruguay, summer holidays usually begin in early December, and finish in early March (3 months). However, students do not have much holidays throughout the school year, having only one week for Easter Holidays, another week for Spring Holidays, and two weeks for Winter Holidays.

See also

• Summer camp
• Summer school
• School holiday
• Academic term