By JOSEPH B. NADEAU

WOONSOCKET — The summer is in full swing but local students may be surprised by how quickly their school vacation will end this year.

With Labor Day falling late on the calendar this year on Sept. 7, school will be starting before the holiday, on Sept. 1, according to the revised school calendar approved by the School Committee last week.
The change from the post-Labor Day start seen in recent years was made with the intent of keeping school from stretching too late into June next year, according to School Committee Chairman Marc A. Dubois.
Even with a Sept. 1 start in place the school year will still stretch well into June again due to a longer than usual holiday break also in the calendar.
The school department will be shutting down for the holidays on Friday, Dec. 18, and students will not return until Monday, Jan. 5, due to the way Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on the calendar, Dubois said.
The long vacation will actually help the department in opening the new middle school complex at Hamlet Avenue and Florence Drive which is expected to be complete and ready for students by that time, according Dubois.
“We’re hoping to make than transition to the new middle school over the holiday recess,” he said.
The city’s existing 1,600-student school is being replaced with two 880-student middle schools now being completed by the Gilbane Building Co. under the $80 million construction project and both buildings are expected to be ready for the planned move between school semesters, according to Dubois.
A smooth transition from the old building to the new building during the vacation period might keep the school year on track but harsh winter weather could pose another problem in getting students out of school on time in June, Dubois noted.
The calendar approved by the committee will keep students in school until June 22, the 180th day of school, but as few as five snow days during the winter could push the calendar to ending on June 30, the committee member pointed out.
 “We have to have 180 days of school and that would take us almost to the end of June,” he said.
The committee did discuss an option of combining the planned February and April vacations from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19, and April 19 to April 23, into a single March vacation but took no action on that step for now.
Dubois said School Superintendent Robert J. Gerardi Jr. will be talking to the state Department of Education to determine if such a change could be made this year as a way to keep school from running into summer if a greater number of days out are taken.
 “I know the superintendent will be looking into that but I don’t personally favor it. I am already getting phone calls from parents who have booked family vacations for February vacation and won’t be able to change their plans,” Dubois said.
The committee took an initial vote on the calendar several weeks ago but made revisions to it on Wednesday moving a teacher professional development day from the third week of school to Sept. 8. Teachers will be due back for orientation on Aug. 31, the day before the start of classes for students.
The revised calendar also sets graduation for the Woonsocket High School Class of 2010 as June 18, two days before the planned end of school.
Dubois said graduation moved to a week later in the month so that students will make good use of their 180-day school calendar.
“We have received several complaints in recent years that once the seniors graduate freshmen, sophomores and juniors tend not to attend school after the seniors are gone,” he said. The change will keep the high school in full operation through the graduation ceremony traditionally held at Barry Field on a Friday afternoon, good weather permitting, according to Dubois.