This school year approaches its end, but the Board of Education-approved 2017-2018 school calendar offers several changes for the upcoming school year.

Next school year goes from Aug. 16 through May 24 according to the Rockwood School District website.

While the length of Thanksgiving Break remains at three days with a day off before and after Thanksgiving, it stretches through Nov. 22 through Nov. 24 of next school year.  

Winter Break next year lasts from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2 of 2018, which is 11 days compared to the already short 13 days from this 2016-2017 school year. This fluctuation in the duration of Winter Break involves the day on which Christmas falls.

In the 2014-2015 school year, Christmas was on Thursday, and Winter Break lasted for 15 days. Students must attend Monday through Thursday because of finals, so if Christmas is in the middle of week, students receive more days off before Christmas.

This meant that there were six days off before Christmas that year, whereas next school year, Christmas will be on a Monday, so only three days off will precede Christmas.

Conference Compensation Days next year include Oct. 27 and March 9.  At least since the 2014-2015 school year, in exchange for parent-teacher conferences, students and teachers receive a day off either on Friday or Monday around Halloween.

To extend the week-long Spring Break, the Friday before Spring Break is a Compensation Day.

Next year, Easter is on Apr. 1, so there is no school on the Friday, Mar. 30.