For better organization of children's studies, recreation and leisure time, school holidays are provided. The Ministry of Education annually approves a tentative schedule for their holding. The management of educational institutions sets its training schedule for 2017-2018, taking into account the adopted system of acquiring knowledge.

Holidays in quarters

The most popular method of school education is dividing the year into 4 quarters. After the end of each, the schedule provides for rest. The following factors are taken into account:

• Summer holidays for primary classes begin on May 24. According to the schedule, the rest of the schoolchildren will graduate on May 31, 2019, for graduates - after passing the exams.
• The national holiday Day of National Unity falls on Sunday, so the duration of rest in the fall is increased.
• Winter holidays for schoolchildren coincide with New Year's holidays for parents.

Students will have additional respite time due to official holidays - February 23, March 8-9, 04/30-02/05, 05/09. With such a school education system in 2017-2018, according to the calendar, children’s autumn holidays will be 8 days, winter holidays will be 13, and spring holidays at school will last 9 days. The following preliminary schedule of training and rest is provided:

Quarter	Study time	Schoolchildren's holidays
		Spring
Fourth

System 5/1 (Modular)

The management of some educational institutions organizes the school process according to the principles of a modular system. The schedule in this case provides for classes for 5-6 weeks and 7 days of rest. At the same time, autumn and winter holidays are held twice. The approximate schedule for 2017-2018 will look like this:

	Study period	School break
		1 autumn
		2 autumn
		New Year's
Fourth
		Spring

Vacation schedule by trimester

Regions of Russia, educational institutions in Moscow and individual cities independently choose their study concept. One of the options that the director of a school or gymnasium can organize with the support of the parent committee is the education of children according to the trimester system. The academic year is divided into three parts, each of which includes two modules. The school holiday schedule for 2017-2018 in this case may be as follows:

		Period of study	Children's holidays
1st trimester			Autumn 1
			Autumn 2
2nd trimester			New Year's
3rd trimester			Spring

Vacations for first grades

In the second half of the school year, first-graders find it difficult to cope with school loads. The schedule provides for an additional rest period for them. According to the recommendations of the Ministry of Education, taking into account the public holiday of February 23 - Defender of the Fatherland Day, The first classes can still rest from February 18 to 25.

Additional holidays in the 2017-2018 academic year

It is difficult to create a unified school schedule for how children will study and relax in 2017-2018. Deviations from recommended dates are possible.

It is important that changes made to the schedule do not increase the duration of absence from the educational process by more than 14 days.

In this case, it will be difficult to catch up with the program. An additional rest period may be due to the following factors:

• quarantine due to illness;
• low temperatures in winter;
• natural disasters;
• floods in spring;
• squally winds;
• building safety issues;
• utility accidents.

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Winter holidays, which usually coincide with New Year's.

We have long been accustomed to the fact that days of compulsory rest in different educational institutions may fall on different dates. And of course, everyone knows that the reason for such discrepancies is training formats. When dividing the year into four unequal parts (quarters), a break follows immediately after the end of the quarter, and when dividing the year into trimesters, every four to five weeks.

However, the situation with winter holidays looks completely different - this period practically coincides in all educational institutions, regardless of the profile and format of study. The difference can be literally a couple of days - trimester schools can announce the start of the weekend a day or two later than “quarter” institutions. But the vacation always ends on the same day.

Winter holidays 2018-2019 in schools with quarterly instruction: December 26-27, 2018 – January 8, 2019 inclusive.

That is, the last lessons will be held on Tuesday 25.12. or Wednesday 26.12. School will begin again on Wednesday 01/09/2019.

The decision on the start and end time of holidays in the new academic year will be made by each educational institution independently. The dates of the 2018-2019 school holidays in a particular educational institution depend on many factors: training in trimesters, quarters or modules; weather; climatic conditions of the area; The Ministry of Education sets recommended vacation dates, but the final decision still remains with the leadership of educational institutions.

Date of winter holidays in the 2018-2019 academic year

The 2nd quarter is the shortest and goes by quickly. Children look forward to the winter holidays with trepidation, as they coincide with the New Year holidays. They will have to be patient and study until December 28-29. The issue is the postponement of holidays at the state level. Monday, December 31st, has been declared a day off; adults and children will work for it on Saturday, the 29th. Although it is unlikely that there will be lessons on the schedule that day. The holidays will last until 01/10/2019. But it is possible that a number of educational institutions will give students the opportunity not to remember their lessons until the Old New Year.

First day of the third quarter

Calculating the first day of school in 2019 may cause some difficulties. The long New Year and Christmas winter holidays, when both adults and children relax, usually last exactly ten days - the first ten days of January. But in 2019, the winter “vacation” will be somewhat shorter than usual. The reason is the Christmas holidays.

Christmas, although not included in the list of public holidays, is an official day off. That is, in relation to this date, the law on the transfer of holidays comes into force. But January 7 and 8 - Christmas days - fall on Monday and Tuesday. This means that no transfers, compensations or extensions of the usual vacation are expected. And the first working day in 2019 for everyone, including schoolchildren, will be Wednesday, January 9.

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Surprise for first-graders

In order to reduce stress levels, an additional break was taken in the middle of the longest and most difficult quarter - the third. Rest, as a rule, occurs at the end of winter, when the New Year's fun has almost faded into memory, and the warm days of spring are still so far away. True, such an unexpected “vacation” is given only to first-graders, and all other students, both junior and middle level, will continue to study their lessons.

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:

1. Autumn vacation.
2. Winter.
3. Spring rest days.
4. 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 you can give 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:

The New Year holidays and winter holidays are over. The third quarter of school begins, the longest and most difficult. And not only because almost all subject programs are structured in such a way that the most complex and voluminous material is studied precisely during this period, that in February–March all kinds of olympiads, tests and tests take place, affecting annual grades, and graduating students begin prepare for exams... Vitamin deficiency and winter cold take their toll: children often get sick at this time, get tired quickly and cease to adequately perceive information. No child is able to bear this load and remain functional.

In winter, the load needs to be reduced

Specialists from the Institute of Developmental Physiology of the Russian Academy of Education and the Research Institute of Hygiene and Child Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences identify three groups of factors influencing the health of a child. The first is weather conditions and climate, the second is the atmosphere in the family, the third is the organization of school activities.

The third quarter is characterized by a combination of weather conditions and the organization of school life that is irrational from a physiological point of view. Hence the fair conclusion of many hygienists that the domestic holiday system, left to us from Soviet times, is simply harmful. According to it, the first quarter lasts 65 days, followed by 5 days of vacation. Second quarter – 50 days and 12 days of vacation. Children, healed by the summer sun and vitamins, can withstand the first two quarters. But the third one is the hardest.
Firstly, by this point most of the school year has passed and fatigue accumulates (no matter what the holidays are). We must not forget about emotional fatigue. Even if a child doesn’t try very hard in class, he still gets tired: from a lot of people, the same faces, fears and feelings of guilt, tension in the lesson. Monotonous long-term work, constant stress, and the lack of prospects for a near rest (there are still 2 months until the next vacation) increase internal anxiety and provoke depressive moods in children.
Secondly, in winter there is a short daylight hours and a lack of ultraviolet radiation. And thirdly, there is a lack of vitamins: no matter what we say about the abundance of vegetables and fruits in winter, these are artificially grown products that have been stored for a long time. It is difficult to assume that every child eats 3 fruits a day (as experts advise). There is another important reason: children began to go out less. According to research from the Institute of Developmental Physiology, which has been ongoing for 20 years, today even rural schoolchildren spend no more than half an hour outdoors. The reason is the same computer and TV. In addition, the number of lessons is growing every year.
A 9th grade student's daily workload averages 14-16 hours (schoolwork, extracurricular activities, plus homework), so what else can he do? The director of the Institute of Developmental Physiology, Academician of the Russian Academy of Education Maryana Bezrukikh, considers it completely wrong that by winter the workload in our schools does not decrease, but increases (it should be the other way around) and its peak occurs in February. It is important to redistribute the load correctly, for example, in April it can be increased. The school itself has the right to decide these issues.
Studies have found that the first two weeks after rest, the performance of schoolchildren increases. Then it stays at a high level for another two weeks, and on the fifth week it begins to fall. It is then, doctors believe, that the children need to be given a break. If continuous study lasts more than eight weeks (and the third quarter lasts all ten), the performance of adolescents and high school students falls, and younger students even begin to lose weight, complain of poor health, headaches, drowsiness, and decreased attention. Doctors observe vegetative-vascular disorders in such children with a tendency to hypertensive reactions.

Signs of overwork

If the child has become excessively whiny, passive or, on the contrary, explosive, violent, complains of being unwell in the morning (stomach, head, throat, leg hurt...); if the teenager has become aggressive, gloomy, withdrawn, possibly absent-minded, complains of poor memory, grades have dropped sharply and entries about absenteeism appear in the diary; if by mid-February he has lost weight, has bruises under his eyes and has begun to sleep poorly - the situation is alarming.
Fatigue is a temporary decrease in performance under the influence of prolonged exposure to stress. It arises from the depletion of internal resources and mismatch in the operation of the systems that support the activity.
It can manifest itself at the behavioral level - a decrease in labor productivity, a decrease in the speed and accuracy of work; on the physiological level – difficulty in developing conditioned connections, increased inertia in the dynamics of nervous processes; on the psychological level – decreased sensitivity, impaired attention, memory, intellectual processes, shifts in the emotional and motivational sphere.
In the absence of measures that reduce the degree or remove the residual effects of fatigue, the development of borderline and pathological conditions is possible.

What teachers can do

Try to understand why the student does not learn the material. A child who is too slow needs to repeat what he has learned at school at home. Help someone who is too fast to learn perseverance and concentration - a very important skill for any student (there are many corresponding games, trainings, a good option is a chess tournament).
Physical education lessons, gymnastics and relaxation exercises (relaxation) help restore the performance of younger schoolchildren. The results of scientific research have shown that the daily use of physical exercises and elements of relaxation during the work week (in the fourth lesson) helps maintain children's performance at the end of the school day, week and term. Learning results did not decrease by the end of the day and week, although this pattern was observed before the introduction of such classes. Teachers and parents note improved academic performance, increased activity, and motivation to learn.
However, the effectiveness of their use varies depending on the psychological and age characteristics of younger schoolchildren.
For example, physical exercise for 15 minutes. give the greatest effect for students aged 7–8 years. Their concentration was restored almost completely, the pace of task completion and switchability increased by more than 50 percent. Physical education lesson lasting 40 minutes. made it possible to restore the level of performance, but at slightly lower levels of the studied values. Performing relaxation exercises turned out to be ineffective in restoring the studied functions. Scientists believe that for children 7–8 years old, the physical activity offered during the lesson is quite high. It is more difficult for children of this age to organize themselves and engage in the maximum possible pace of work in class after 40 minutes of physical activity.
The use of relaxation elements is not an effective way of recovery, obviously because some children cannot immediately master relaxation exercises. Only after several seriously and regularly conducted classes at school is it possible to feel some results.
For 3rd grade students (10–11 years old), on the contrary, the best way to restore their performance is to take a physical education lesson. In this case, concentration, speed of execution and switchability were restored almost completely. But performing physical exercises or elements of relaxation turned out to be a factor that does not sufficiently contribute to the restoration of performance after the reached level of fatigue.
Good health and good spirits are an indispensable condition for successful studies. But physical health is also directly related to psychological well-being, so do not forget that the child needs support, encouragement and sympathy. Remember your sense of humor and the magical power of art. Bright, beautiful photographs, paintings, and indoor plants in pots will lift the mood and vitality of both the students and you.
After all, teachers also experience the difficulties of a protracted third quarter! Therefore, actively take part in physical education, bring a bright fruit, and before the lunch break, let it lie not in your bag, but in plain sight. A bouquet of flowers will also lift your spirits, even if you gave it to yourself. Take your kids for a walk outside, or go on a hike on the weekend. And don’t forget to take your own children... they also experience the negative impact of the third quarter no less than your students!

What parents can do

No matter how old your child gets, parents will have to monitor his healthy lifestyle. And the older the student, the more difficult it is to do this without it becoming a cause of family discord.
Parental help should be discreet and unobtrusive: organize a skiing trip together, buy skates for all family members or just ride down an ice slide together, place a bowl of fruit (oranges, tangerines, persimmons - both beautiful and healthy) in the child’s room. Place a vitamin directly into your son’s mouth and wish him good luck. Vitamin tea, for example, with St. John's wort or rosehip, is useful at breakfast. If the air in the room is dry (and this is often the case, because central heating radiators not only warm the air in the apartment, but also dry it out), then place a humidifier in the bedroom so that the child feels more alert in the morning. You can organize a family trip out of town, a trip to the sauna, or a swimming pool.

The key to successful schooling – high-quality homework completion. Not all children know how to do them on their own. Some sit for hours at textbooks, but to no avail, others, on the contrary, hoping for help from adults, wait for them to return from work, open notebooks late in the evening. There is also parental guilt in this. My baby and I usually do our homework together. And then we suddenly decide that it’s time for the child to become independent, but he doesn’t even know how to approach the matter.
Discuss possible tactics and strategies with your children. Those who are unsure of themselves should start with the easiest tasks. Having successfully completed the exercise, the child will feel empowered and will gradually master much more complex tasks. For some, on the contrary, it is better to choose the most difficult subjects, and a paragraph from a biology textbook can be read before bed. Emotional children should first complete assignments in their favorite subjects, then the stock of good mood will be enough for everything else. Some people will benefit from a quiet background music, while others need complete silence.
It is important to teach children to properly regulate their study time at home: alternate types of classes in different subjects, take breaks between them for 10–15 minutes, during which tension is relieved and the eyes are rested.
If a child sits idle for a long time, staring at one point, and cannot take up his homework, allow him to play for half an hour first, preferably outside. Just keep in mind: the simplest at first glance computer games and overly active physical games are tiring. You shouldn’t sit down to do them before doing your homework.

Don't forget about your daily routine

The daily routine is based on the correct alternation of various types of activities and rest during the day. It promotes the normal development of children, their health, education of will, and teaches discipline.
Analyze your child's daily routine. And then it will become clear that, firstly, he is not getting enough sleep. An elementary school student should sleep 9–10 hours (a high school student should sleep at least 8). A child needs to be in the air for 2.5–3 hours, and a high school student needs 2–2.5.
We need to understand where time goes: is the child wasting it? Maybe he sits in front of the TV and watches TV series with his grandmother? If we take sleep, a mandatory walk, add 2 hours for hygiene procedures, food, then we will understand that there will be left for study and additional classes.
Much attention in a schoolchild's daily routine should be paid to nutrition. For normal physical and mental development, a properly organized diet (4-5 meals) is important. The child should have dinner 1–1.5 hours before bedtime.
On weekends, the main elements of the daily routine (sleep, food, etc.) should remain the same as on weekdays, but at the same time maximum time is allocated to being outdoors. On Saturday and Sunday, you need to let your child sleep. Children 7–10 years old should sleep at least 10–10.5 hours a day, teenagers - at least 8–9, otherwise their performance drops by 30%. Chronic lack of sleep, like mental fatigue, is the cause of neuroses and the accompanying irritability, rudeness, and absent-mindedness. Excessive stress should be avoided, which can disrupt sleep and adversely affect the student’s health.
How carefully parents think through their child’s daily routine and try to implement it into their lives, the extent to which it will have a positive impact on all aspects of their child’s life and health.

Distract yourself and distract your children

No matter how much attention you have to pay to your studies, be sure to distract yourself and distract your son or daughter. The monotony of school everyday life must be broken up with bright events. Let your child go to a disco or a match once a week, preferably on the weekend, so that he has time to sleep the next day. When picking him up from school, go shopping on the way back, go to an exhibition, to the theater. Especially if not everything is going well at school. In order not to consider himself an eternal loser, a child must feel success in any other space: in an amateur theater, on a hockey rink, in an art studio. The experience of victories will help him withstand the blows of fate. Of course, you cannot insist on attending clubs or force your son or daughter to enroll there.
Although it is troublesome, it is possible to struggle with the structure of the school schedule.
The climate is something beyond our control, and moving to warm countries is an unlikely option for most. A short trip can only be harmful due to a sudden change in climatic conditions. Psychologists believe that a favorable atmosphere in the family is crucial in this situation.
If the situation is very difficult, then once a week, if necessary, you can allow the child not to go to school. (If he has not been to school for more than three days, a doctor's certificate is not required, a note from his parents stating that he was not feeling well is sufficient.)
Don't scold your children for bad grades and lessons they didn't learn. If he rests, he will catch up. There is no point in raising your voice. Moreover, use old-fashioned methods - a belt or cuffs. These means will not help the matter, but can only harm the emotional state of the little person even more.
Help your child get rid of negative attitudes such as “I can’t”, “I doubt”, “I should”, changing them to “I can”, “I’m sure”, “I want”. Psychologists advise excluding negative particles “not” and adversative conjunctions (“but”, “a”) in these daily formulas. It’s better to change them to “and”, “at the same time”, for example: “It’s a difficult task, but I can handle it.” Do not refuse your son or daughter help in solving complex problems. Help with a leading question - it’s not difficult, but the child’s nerves will be relieved, and it will take much less time to complete the lessons.
Help children overcome negative attitudes towards themselves. Never exclaim pathetically: “Everyone’s children are like children, but mine!..”. You and your child must clearly know that he is the best for you. He may not be like everyone else, but for you he is the very best. Don't be shy to tell him about it.
Read more humorous stories, watch funny TV programs. A joke will set the mood. Laughter unites and relieves tension.
And physiologists recommend a diet enriched with vitamins and microelements. Let your child eat more fruit. As well as meat and fish: proteins stimulate brain function.
More outdoor games. Bright paintings and photographs improve your mood very well; even try to choose optimistic colors for your clothes, certainly bright and warm tones.