For parents whose children will just go to school in 2023-2024, we suggest that you find out in detail when the first-graders will have their holidays (first, winter, spring and additional), as well as what other privileges the first-graders have.
Special learning format
The first acquaintance with the school is the most important stage in the life of every child. Even if at preschool age the kid attended a kindergarten, was active, inquisitive and easily learned educational material, one should not underestimate the complexity of the adaptation period, which, according to teachers and psychologists, can take from several months to a year for different children.
That is why education for the youngest students has its own characteristics.
| Month | Number of lessons | Lesson duration |
| September - October | 3 | 30 min |
| November - December | 4 | 35 min. |
| January - May | 4 (once a week 5 are allowed, provided that one of them is PE) | 40 min. |
Since most first-graders study in the same building as students in grades 3-4 or even high school, the start of lessons for all grades is the same, but for kids the lesson is completed according to the established norms. Thus, the changes for them are much longer.According to the norms, the break between lessons in grade 1 cannot be less than 10 minutes, but in reality, children have much more time for activity. Even the minimum break at school - 5 minutes, for the youngest students turns into a 20-minute rest in the first months of study, as 15 minutes are released from each shortened lesson.
Also, regardless of the education system and work schedule, each school must comply with the following prohibitions established for first graders:
- training only in the 1st shift, even if the school is studying in the 2nd or 3rd shift;
- five days, regardless of whether Saturday is a working day for high school;
- no scoring;
- lack of homework;
- distribution of the daily study load, taking into account a special coefficient (prohibition on paired lessons).
Relevant for kids are school-wide norms that establish the minimum duration of vacation periods (7 days) and the minimum allotted for periods of rest during the school year (30 days, not counting summer holidays).
Quarter system
Important! For first-graders, the quarter system provides not 3, as for all students, but 4 vacation periods!
At the same time, the main schedule of important dates will largely coincide with the schedule of older children:
| Quarter | Duration | Dates |
| 1st | 8 weeks | 01.09.23 - 29.10.23 |
| 2nd | 8 weeks | 07.11.23 - 31.12.23 |
| 3rd | 11 weeks | 09.01.24 - 24.03.24 |
| 4th | 8 weeks | 01.04.24 - 25.05.24 |
Autumn
Thus, the first holidays for first-graders in the 2023-2024 school year. will be held at the end of the 1st quarter - from October 30 to November 5, 2023.
In fact, the guys will have 10 consecutive days of rest, from Saturday 10/28/23 to Monday 11/06/23 inclusive. Such a long autumn period of rest was formed due to the successful imposition of the November 4 holiday on Saturday and the subsequent transfer of the day off to Monday.
Christmas
The winter holidays of first-graders in 2023-2024 will completely coincide with the all-Russian holidays and will officially last from January 1 to January 8, 2024 inclusive.
In fact, the winter holiday will take 9 days, since it will start on Saturday 12/30/23 and end only on Sunday 01/07/24.
Please note that the first day of the 3rd quarter will be Monday January 8th. All weekends resulting from overlapping January holidays will be moved to May 2024.
February (extra)
A feature of the educational process of first-graders under the quarter system is additional holidays for first-graders, who in the 2023-2024 academic year. traditionally falls in February. It is during this period that the incidence of acute respiratory viral infections among schoolchildren reaches its peak, and there is also a decline in activity in most people, regardless of age.
In 2023-2024, the February holidays for first graders are recommended to be held from February 19 to 25.
After analyzing the calendar, it is easy to calculate that the children will have 9 days of rest in a row, from Saturday 02/17/24 to Sunday 02/25/24. But at the same time, in fact, schoolchildren will “lose” only 4 days, since Defender of the Fatherland Day falls on the same week in the calendar.
Spring
Spring break is recommended to be held from March 25 to March 31, 2024.
And again, for a five-day period, the duration of the vacation will actually be 9 days, because schoolchildren will have a rest from Saturday 03/23/24 to Sunday 03/31/24.
Trimester system
If the school works in trimesters, then the holidays for first-graders in 2023-2024 will be held according to a different schedule. Although the trimester system has only 3 reference periods, it provides children with 5 vacation periods - November and February between trimesters and intermediate in October, January and April.
| Trimester | Duration | Dates |
| 1st | 10 wks (5 + 5) | 01.09.23 - 19.11.23 |
| 2nd | 11 weeks (5 + 6) | 27.11.23 - 18.02.24 |
| 3rd | 12 weeks (6 + 6) | 26.02.24 - 25.05.24 |
Autumn
In schools that study in trimesters in 2023-2024, vacations for first graders will be held twice in the fall. The first - from October 9 to 15, the second - from November 20 to 26, 2023.
Given that each vacation period, taking into account the previous weekend, will last 9 days, in the fall the children will have 2 times more time for rest than children with a quarter system.
Winter
In winter, the school schedule for trimesters also includes 2 vacation periods - from January 1 to January 7, and also from February 19 to February 25, 2024.
At the same time, the second winter vacation is not a privilege for first-graders, but the norm for all students from grades 1 to 11.
Spring
In the spring, there is only one holiday period for the trimester system, from April 8 to April 14, 2024.
Conclusion
Please note that Russia does not introduce a single mandatory vacation schedule for schools in all regions of the country. The calendars presented in the article are advisory in nature, therefore, in the coming year there will be both schools that will take these schedules as a basis, and educational institutions that will offer their students alternative options. You can find out exactly when your child will have vacation periods on the website of your school.
If there are changes in the recommended vacation schedules, we will promptly announce important news and make changes to the calendars for quarters and trimesters.
