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“For me and my friends, Grade 12 has been a really, really stressful time,” says the student at R.H. King Academy, noting competition for acceptance into university programs is intense.

One thing that took the edge off, and allowed for some shut-eye, was having a break during first semester, a so-called “Wellness Week.” It’s a unique feature at R.H. King, which runs on a modified calendar so that classes start one week earlier than other º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøschools and students then take a week off in November. 

The wellness week acts as a pressure valve of sorts, giving teens a chance to decompress, sleep, recharge, catch up on studies, focus on extracurricular pursuits, work on university applications and accumulate volunteer hours. 

It was introduced at the Scarborough school as part of a pilot project about a decade ago because kids there reported high levels of stress and anxiety, when compared with the average student population of the º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøDistrict School Board. Although staff, parents and teens highlight the academic and mental health benefits, the modified calendar was almost nixed this past year, with the TDSB planning to put R.H. King back on a regular calendar, sparking community outcry.

On Wednesday, trustees unanimously agreed to make the distinctive timetable a fixture at R.H. King, the first school in º£½ÇÉçÇø¹ÙÍøto officially adopt a modified calendar — a move that comes against a backdrop of increased attention being paid to youth mental healthÌý¾±²õ²õ³Ü±ð²õ.

Jason Irving, co-chair of the school’s parent council, says the modified calendar has been “fantastic,” adding it makes sense for kids to get a week off during the first semester, since they have March Break in the second. He’d love to see the model expanded to other high schools, noting, “It should benefit everybody, not just the students of the R.H. King area.”

At a recent TDSB meeting, senior staff said no other schools have asked to modify their calendar. And while implementing it at R.H. King doesn’t affect TDSB operations in a significant way, doing so system-wide would have financial implications and affect school bus transportation.

In Ontario, it’s up to local boards, in consultation with the school community, to decide whether to adjust the yearly calendar, which must be approved by the Ministry of Education.

Just a handful of them have schools with modified calendars, including the public boards in Durham, Peel and York. For the 2025-2026 academic year, only 14 schools provincewide will operate outside the traditional calendar. Their schedules differ, and so do the reasons for having them. For instance, athletics-focused Bill Crothers Secondary School in York starts in mid-August to accommodate students who do high-intensity training and travel for competitions.

In addition, school authorities in the northern region have a modified calendar that allows students to participate in the traditional fall goose hunt or spring goose hunt. 

Research shows that when it comes to learning, it makes more sense to spread breaks over the whole calendar, rather than taking two months off during the summer, says Todd Cunningham, associate professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. 

And teenagers get woken up way too early to begin with, says the clinical and school psychologist. “Their natural rhythm is not to get up at 7 or 7:30 in the morning to get to school. So having a break in the school year to rest makes a lot of sense. 

“Universities adopted this a number of years ago by putting a reading week into the fall terms, and not just into the winter terms, because they recognize the need for students to get a break ... to sleep in, catch up, recoup a bit, before they enter into the next sprint.”

It’s a sentiment shared by the teens of R.H King, who overwhelmingly support a November break, even if it means losing a week of summer holiday.

“The first semester is a really stressful time for everyone, regardless of what grade you are in,” says Munir, president of the student council. “If you’re in Grade 9, all of a sudden you have all this new work. And if you’re in Grade 11 and 12, the stakes are so much higher, because all your marks are sent to universities.”

But according to  on R.H. King, the early start in August causes problems for some, including teens with summer jobs, families balancing multiple school schedules, siblings providing child care and those expecting classes to start after Labour Day. It also notes the November break is disruptive for a small number of students who prefer the continuity of lessons, and it raises equity concerns for parents who don’t have flexible work schedules to look after their kids.

Still, it says wellness week is “widely supported” and a majority of students, parents and staff feel it “significantly benefits mental health and academic success.”

Trustee Malika Ghous says community feedback has been “overwhelmingly positive,” adding “the November break has been cited as an important factor in preventing burnout and allowing for personal growth outside of the classroom.”

The school is full of high achievers, as is evident from provincial standardized test results (EQAO testing, done by the Education Quality and Accountability Office). And when compared with other TDSB high schools, a higher percentage of students pass Grade 9 and 10 math and English courses; accumulate more credits; graduate; and apply for post-secondary education. 

Ahnaaf Hassan, in Grade 11, says the November break has given him a chance to take a breather and focus exclusively on getting caught up in math, without having other course work pile up. And he has racked up dozens of volunteer hours during that week by helping in the kindergarten class of his old elementary school — an opportunity he wouldn’t otherwise have. (He’s in the school’s Future Leaders Pathway Program and must complete 100 volunteer hours, rather than just the 40 that are a graduation requirement for all Ontario students.)

Meanwhile, Nikita Hardial, who’s in Grade 12, dedicated this year’s fall break to working on supplementary applications for university programs, which included having to write essays. It turned out to be a stressful week, but it would have been far worse if she had to juggle those demands with daily classes.

“No matter how you use (wellness week), it’s beneficial.”