There are few days left before the school starts, and we already know the calendar our children will have during the course, your holidays and your holiday periods. Again, parents will have to organize ourselves to attend them in those days when they don't have class but we do have to work.
We have analyzed the work and school calendars of Madrid and Barcelona, very similar to those of the other Autonomous Communities except Cantabria, whose school calendar was modified last academic year. We tell you what dates you should keep in mind so that your children's school holidays do not catch you off guard.
National holidays, both for schoolchildren and for workers
The common holidays throughout the national territory, both for the students and for the working parents that we will have throughout the school year, September 2017 - June 2018, will be:
Thursday October 12 °, National Holiday Day
Wednesday November 1st, All Saints Day
Wednesday 6th of December, Day of the constitution
Friday December 8, Immaculate Conception's Day
Monday December 25th, Christmas
Monday January 1, 2018, New Year
Saturday January 6, 2018, Epiphany of the Lord
Friday March 30, 2018, Holy Friday
Tuesday May 1, 2018, Labor Day
These national holidays should be add the regional holidays of each Autonomous Community, (in this case we talk about Catalonia and the Community of Madrid) and local holidays, typical of the city of Barcelona and Madrid. These regional and local holidays will coincide with the parents' work calendar only if they work in the same geographical area as where their children study.
Out of these days, Each school will have two or three days of "free disposal" or "non-school", which will communicate to families at the beginning of the course. These days may vary from one school to another, since each center chooses when to enjoy them.
The days of "free disposition" must be taken into account by parents as they force them to look for alternatives for childcare, as they are not holidays at work.And if this were not enough, many schools add a difficult variable to manage for parents whose kids start school for the first time: the adaptation period during the first days of the course.
And there are centers that impose this measure so that the child progressively adapts to the school and its routines, something that usually causes real headaches to parents when it comes to combining their children's schedules with those of their jobs.
The 2017-18 school calendar in Barcelona
According to the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Barcelona students will start the course on Tuesday, September 12 in the cycles of Infant Education and Primary Education. On the other hand, students of ESO, Baccalaureate and middle and upper grade cycles will begin at the latest on September 14.
The fact that classes in Barcelona start later than in most autonomous communities is due to the fact that on September 11 the National Day is celebrated, a holiday in Catalonia.
On Monday, September 25, workers and schoolchildren from Barcelona capital will have it free again when the local festival of La Mercè that is celebrated the previous day is moved.
- CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. The Christmas holidays for schoolchildren in Barcelona will begin on December 23 and will end on Monday, January 8, 2018, the day classes begin again.
Of all that school holiday period, the only holidays for parents attending the work calendar will be the national holidays of December 25 and January 1 and 6, and the autonomous San Esteban that is celebrated on December 26.
The dates indicated with a circle, correspond to the Christmas school holidays in Barcelona - EASTER HOLIDAYS. Easter holidays for schoolchildren in Barcelona will begin on March 26 and will last until Wednesday, April 2, both included.
Of the entire school holiday period, parents would only coincide with their children on Friday, March 30 and April 2, national and regional holidays respectively, according to their work calendar.
The dates indicated with a circle, correspond to the Easter holidays in Barcelona He Friday, June 22, classes finish in all the centers of the Community of Catalonia, and schoolchildren will release them enjoying their parents on Monday, June 25, when they move to that day the autonomous holiday of San Juan that is celebrated on the 24th.
- BRIDGES AND OTHER FESTIVITIES
Outside of the two large holiday periods, the Department of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya has not published other holidays or "bridges" in the general school calendar, so it is understood that each center will inform parents at the beginning of the course.
The 2017-18 school calendar in Madrid
The school calendar of the next course published in the Ministry of Education and Sports of the Community of Madrid starts on Friday, September 8 for the levels of second cycle of Infant and Primary Education.
On Tuesday, September 12, the students of 1st of ESO will begin, and the next day will do the rest of students of ESO, Baccalaureate and middle and upper grade cycles.
Via Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Community of Madrid - CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS. As in Barcelona, the Christmas holidays will begin on December 23 and will end on January 7, both inclusive. The difference, however, is that in Madrid there are one holiday less, since San Esteban is not celebrated in this community.
For the entire Christmas school holiday period, parents can only enjoy December 25 and January 1 and 6 as the only national holiday dates according to the work calendar.
The dates indicated with a circle, correspond to the Christmas school holidays in Madrid - EASTER HOLIDAYS. The second holiday period for Madrid schoolchildren will begin a day earlier than in Barcelona, that is on Friday, March 23, and will last until April 3, date on which classes will begin.
The dates indicated with a circle, correspond to the Easter holidays in Madrid In this second school holiday period, children will only coincide with their parents on March 29 and 30, holidays established in the work calendar of the Community of Madrid.
As in Barcelona, Classes will end on Friday, June 22, 2018.
BRIDGES AND OTHER FESTIVITIES
In the school calendar published by the Ministry of Education of the Community of Madrid, we can see the "bridges "and other designated holidays within the academic field, and which are:
He Friday, October 13 (Except for Infant Schools): Puente de la Hispanidad
He Thursday, December 7: Constitution Bridge
The days February 15 and 16, 2018 they will be holidays for school children in the Community, with the exception of the Infant Schools.
He Monday, April 30 it will be a holiday in the Community, establishing a three-day bridge by joining the national holiday of day 1 and the regional day of day 2.
What is clear is that, one more year, parents will have to prepare plan B to cover the "bridges" and school holiday periods of our children: grandparents, babysitters, camps or vacation days at work for the lucky ones.
And you, you know how you will organize throughout the next academic year?
In Babies and More Children of Cantabria will have a week of vacation every two months of class, solution or complication ?, Spanish grandparents are the ones who spend more time caring for grandchildren, Period of adaptation yes or no ?, ¿ Nanny or nursery? ,
