New School Calendar Removes Three Religious Holidays

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Good Friday would be removed from next year's school calendar.

  North Kingstown students may be in the classrooms for three religious holidays starting next year following a vote from the North Kingstown School Committee. All seven members of the committee unanimously approved changes to the school calendars, removing three religious holidays – Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashanah and Good Friday – starting with the 2013-2014 academic year. According to School Superintendent Phil Auger, the new calendar more closely follows the calendar used by state workers. The change would give school officials a great buffer when accommodating snow days, hurricane days and other unforeseen issues that prompt no school. “I’ve been superintendent for a year and a half and during that time I haven’t called a snow day,” said …

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E

2:32 pm on Friday, February 1, 2013

My correction - Hamilton and Stony Lane - 3:45.... the others 3:05 - ALL still AFTER 3pm. With children getting off their buses in some instances well after 4:15.   more ›

NK Parent Calls for Reinstitution of Rosh Hashanah

A Catholic parent from NK is asking for the Jewish holy day to be once again recognized on the school calendar.

Just hours after the start of the Yom Kippur, one North Kingstown parent stood before the North Kingstown School Committee asking for another Jewish holy day to be reinstated on the school calendar. For the past several years, North Kingstown students had Rosh Hashanah off. Last year, the school department was taken away to make up for the days missed following Hurricane Irene. Last year, school started a week late as North Kingstown struggled to restore power to all schools and residents. Though no hurricane (or tropical storm) appeared this year to give students an extended summer vacation, Rosh Hashanah was omitted from this year’s school calendar once again. Cheryl Dowling, a Catholic parent of three North Kingstown students, told the …

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Letter: Reinstitute Rosh Hashanah

One NK parent asks the school committee to reinstitute Rosh Hashanah as a holy day on the school calendar.

The following is a transcript of remarks made by parent Cheryl Dowling at the North Kingstown School Committee's Sept. 25 meeting during citizen's comments. My name is Cheryl Dowling. I am a parent of three children in the North Kingstown school system.  I am here to request that you re-institute Rosh Hashanah as a holy day on the school calendar.  My oldest child is a senior and as far back as I remember my kids have always had Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur off from school. Last year, Rosh Hashanah was taken away to “make up” for one of the Hurricane Irene days that we had off.  No tests, quizzes or new material were to be given on that day.  A Jewish friend of mine, told me that her son said to her, “We rate less than a snow day.” How sad…

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Govstench

7:53 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2012

Unless you want the ACLU down your backs, I would leave the religious stuff alone. You only have to look at Cranston and what the ACLU has cost that city.   more ›

Five Things To Know Today

5 Things: Coffee Day, Fry Trial & Rosh Hashanah

Five things to know for Sept. 29.

Today is our favorite day of the year (aside from Christmas, the first day of summer and the day after Halloween when all the candy goes on sale). Today is National Coffee Day! To celebrate the day, Dunkin' Donuts is donating 25 cents from every coffee sold in Rhode Island to the Special Olympics. Stop by the Dunkin' on Ten Rod Road in North Kingstown between 9 and 11 a.m to see our local Special Olympic athletes help drum up support.  Court is back in session today as testimony continues in the Fry murder trial. Kimberly Fry is charged with second-degree murder in the death of her 8-year-old daughter, Camden. Fry allegedly strangled her daughter after the girl refused to take a bath. Check here for the latest update from the trial and …

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