In spite of missing two school days as a result of Hurricane Sandy, as well as a third with the addition of a previously unscheduled work day to the 2012-2013 calendar, the Mathews County Public School system is still in good shape as far as having enough class time for the academic year.

Superintendent of Schools David J. Holleran briefed school board members on the 2012-2013 calendar during the board’s Nov. 20 meeting, which was held in the Mathews High School media center.

Virginia schools are required to provide students with 990 hours of instructional time, which equates to five and a half hours over a 180-day school calendar.

Mathews, meanwhile, has six-hour school days for 172 of the 180 days, and 4.5-hour days for eight early-release days, adding up to 1,068 hours. This gives the division 78 hours of "banked time," or slightly more than 14 days, Holleran explained.

So, even with the loss of these three school days, Mathews still has flexibility in its schedule without having to resort to amending its planned vacation days. Holleran said he’s keeping his fingers crossed for a mild winter. However, if the division does have more than a couple of snow days this winter, the board will reconsider the schedule at that time, he indicated.

In other news, Holleran and the board members discussed a recent incident at Thomas Hunter Middle School where a student received life-saving help from the school’s faculty members. The student’s heart had stopped and the teachers used the school’s AED to resuscitate him before the Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad arrived on the scene, Holleran said.

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