Year-round Elementary Schools

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
irvinehomeowner

irvinehomeowner

Well-known member
Has anyone had experience with any of the Irvine year-round elementary schools?

Vista Verde (Turtle Ridge)
Plaza Vista (Westpark II)
Westpark (Westpark I)
Woodbury

I actually think it would be good for our kids so I'm wondering if any parents here can share their opinions.

Thanks.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Has anyone had experience with any of the Irvine year-round elementary schools?

Vista Verde (Turtle Ridge)
Plaza Vista (Westpark II)
Westpark (Westpark I)
Woodbury

I actually think it would be good for our kids so I'm wondering if any parents here can share their opinions.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Only main advantage I hear from parents are that it's great for taking vacation during off-peak months.
 
See, that's the thing... since I've been married, we've never taken more than a 2-weeker and our current school is sort of year-round and only has 1-week vacations in summer and 2-weeks in winter.

So to mirror our work schedule, I would think it would be better for our kids to be in school year round when they are younger and then by 7th grade and up they can do those summer camp/school/program things (or stay home and veg... or better yet... get a job... hehe).
 
irvinehomeowner said:
See, that's the thing... since I've been married, we've never taken more than a 2-weeker and our current school is sort of year-round and only has 1-week vacations in summer and 2-weeks in winter.

So to mirror our work schedule, I would think it would be better for our kids to be in school year round when they are younger and then by 7th grade and up they can do those summer camp/school/program things (or stay home and veg... or better yet... get a job... hehe).
Click to expand...

That will work for you since IUSD does not have any middle and high schools with year round school schedule.
 
I'm bumping this thread because I thought I would hear more about Woodbury at the least. Someone said that the new homeowners don't like the year-round schedule but I know that Plaza Vista is a popular school.

Are there no parents on this board that have kids at any of the above schools?
 
Is Childcare an issue for the year round schools or do they offer it for all days off.  I think it might be good to not have a such a long summer break.

Also, what kind of after school and summer programs are there for middle school kids?
 
I'm not sure if there are any parents on this forum who have kids in year round schools.

It would be easier to get an answer about parking code violations at Santa Cruz.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
Has anyone had experience with any of the Irvine year-round elementary schools?

Vista Verde (Turtle Ridge)
Plaza Vista (Westpark II)
Westpark (Westpark I)
Woodbury

I actually think it would be good for our kids so I'm wondering if any parents here can share their opinions.

Thanks.
Click to expand...
I'm sure it may be nice for parents to send their kids to year round schools, but having summers off as a kid (a long, long time ago for me) was so much fun.  Hang out with friends, go to the beach, and anticipating when school gets out for the summer each June. 
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
I'm sure it may be nice for parents to send their kids to year round schools, but having summers off as a kid (a long, long time ago for me) was so much fun.  Hang out with friends, go to the beach, and anticipating when school gets out for the summer each June. 
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I want my elementary school kids hanging out at the beach with their friends while I'm not around.
 
irvinehomeowner said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
I'm sure it may be nice for parents to send their kids to year round schools, but having summers off as a kid (a long, long time ago for me) was so much fun.  Hang out with friends, go to the beach, and anticipating when school gets out for the summer each June. 
Click to expand...
I'm not sure I want my elementary school kids hanging out at the beach with their friends while I'm not around.
Click to expand...
Opps, I did grow up 2 miles from the beach so my friends and I would bike over to Main St in HB a lot during the summer time.  It'd be a long hike for a school aged kid to get to the beach from Irvine.
 
So maybe everyone knew this but me... but year-round schools have the same number of instruction days as non-year round schools.

They just take their breaks at different times... and it's actually more inconvenient because their breaks are longer during the normal holiday times (so Christmas/New Year is something like 3 weeks instead of 2).

At least in a summer-off school, I can find camp programs but with year-round... the choices during breaks is not as plentiful. Seems like year-round school schedules are actually harder to deal with.

Is anyone here in a year round school?
 
Yes, my kids are in one of the year round Irvine schools you have listed at the beginning of the thread.

My wife really wanted the kids in a year round school so they don't have the long 3 month break during the summers, forgetting everything.  But, as you mentioned, having a lot of 3 week vacations here and there and everywhere isn't good either. 

Summer vacation starts around the same time as the other schools so you don't really get the benefit of traveling during non-peak times during summers.

I worry how they'll readjust when they get to high school and the normal scheduling.


irvinehomeowner said:
So maybe everyone knew this but me... but year-round schools have the same number of instruction days as non-year round schools.

They just take their breaks at different times... and it's actually more inconvenient because their breaks are longer during the normal holiday times (so Christmas/New Year is something like 3 weeks instead of 2).

At least in a summer-off school, I can find camp programs but with year-round... the choices during breaks is not as plentiful. Seems like year-round school schedules are actually harder to deal with.

Is anyone here in a year round school?
Click to expand...
 
My child is in a year round program as well.  When i was looking around for programs for the fall break, I found only 3.  Art camp at the fine arts center, the schools after-school program (which is full day camp during the breaks), and something at University Park.  Fortunately, she loved the art camp for the week she attended. 

We spent the remainder of the break traveling.  Even though we booked everything 3 weeks before our vacation, everything was available and super cheap.  $240 RT plane tickets to Florida.  $120/night 2-bedroom suites in Orlando resorts.  Went on our first Disney cruise, which was awesome!

the Disney cruise took my spouse a bit of convincing.

"But it's hurricane season!"

"yeah sure, but what are the odds of a hurricane so late in the season?  Plus we'll get travel insurance! we'll be fine! Don't be such a worrywart!"

Now I'm reading the news reports of the two Disney Bahamas cruises that went out last week as Hurricane Sandy was moving up the Florida coast.  They sound nightmarish.  Apparently travel insurance wouldn't have helped at all, since Disney chose to sail instead of cancelling the cruise.

As much as we enjoyed our cruise, I'm not sure that we'll be back for another one next October in the same area.  The reality of a hurricane is finally penetrating my sunny optimism.

Our friends will be sailing another Disney cruise during that third week of vacation of the winter break.  It's ridiculously cheap.  It's like $3200 for an 8 day cruise.  They had originally booked the trip for August, for a 7 day cruise, and the price was $10,000!

Despite the hassle of having to search for childcare every 10 weeks, it's nice to get a break from school.  Gave us a chance to have a breather, and go over again some of the concepts she was having trouble with and catch up a little bit. Otherwise, we'd be falling behind even further.






 
We also like to use the frequent breaks to go over where they are weak in school.  Also, it gives us time to teach them
some new skills.  The last break we tried to teach them how to type correctly.  We give them a mini-break but we definitely
don't give them the whole time off.  :P

irvinenester said:
My child is in a year round program as well.  When i was looking around for programs for the fall break, I found only 3.  Art camp at the fine arts center, the schools after-school program (which is full day camp during the breaks), and something at University Park.  Fortunately, she loved the art camp for the week she attended. 

We spent the remainder of the break traveling.  Even though we booked everything 3 weeks before our vacation, everything was available and super cheap.  $240 RT plane tickets to Florida.  $120/night 2-bedroom suites in Orlando resorts.  Went on our first Disney cruise, which was awesome!

the Disney cruise took my spouse a bit of convincing.

"But it's hurricane season!"

"yeah sure, but what are the odds of a hurricane so late in the season?  Plus we'll get travel insurance! we'll be fine! Don't be such a worrywart!"

Now I'm reading the news reports of the two Disney Bahamas cruises that went out last week as Hurricane Sandy was moving up the Florida coast.  They sound nightmarish.  Apparently travel insurance wouldn't have helped at all, since Disney chose to sail instead of cancelling the cruise.

As much as we enjoyed our cruise, I'm not sure that we'll be back for another one next October in the same area.  The reality of a hurricane is finally penetrating my sunny optimism.

Our friends will be sailing another Disney cruise during that third week of vacation of the winter break.  It's ridiculously cheap.  It's like $3200 for an 8 day cruise.  They had originally booked the trip for August, for a 7 day cruise, and the price was $10,000!

Despite the hassle of having to search for childcare every 10 weeks, it's nice to get a break from school.  Gave us a chance to have a breather, and go over again some of the concepts she was having trouble with and catch up a little bit. Otherwise, we'd be falling behind even further.
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top