Summer vacation is the biggest obstacle to having our students achieve their academic potential. Currently we have four ten-week quarters, which totals 200 school days. We should shift to a year-round school model, with only a two week break in early July. As a trade-off, we would not have school on Mondays. Fifty weeks with four school days per week would still give us 200 school days. Teachers, students, and administrators alike enjoy three day weekends - just imagine if every weekend was a three day weekend! I don't even think we would miss summer vacation all that much. Most of us are bored by the end of the break, and we are excited to get back to school to see our friends again.
Finally, with only a two-week break, students would forget less. Teachers could invest time in teaching lots of fun and exciting new things rather than boring the students by reviewing the things they had already "learned" but had forgotten over the summer.
In your comment, disagree with what I am saying above. Make sure to use as many good reasons as you can think of.
What is this boy thinking as he goes over his report card? Is he happy with how he prepared for tests and quizzes? Did he do all of his assigned homework? How will his parents respond when they see the report card?
Saturday the first substantial snow of the season fell. For some, snow means wonderful things. Snow signals sledding, snowball fights, snowmen, and outdoor frolicking followed by warm dry clothes and a mug of hot chocolate. For others snow means shoveling sidewalks and driveways, driving in hazardous conditions, slipping and falling, and puddles on the floor from melted, tracked-in snow.
We often think about Thanksgiving as a time to gorge ourselves on vast quantities of scrumptious food, stare at hours of football, and travel too many hours on highways that are way too crowded. It can also be a great time to take stock of a year gone by. 
