It also means we have just two years left to enjoy holidays during term time.
This week Education chief officer Justin Donovan said that parents are ‘damaging’ their children’s and other pupils’ education by taking them on holiday during term time.
He described the practice as ‘simply unacceptable’ after new figures revealed that a fifth of pupil absences in the last year were due to parents taking their children on holiday.
And his department is now considering whether school term dates in Jersey should be revised so that they are different from the UK, which could help parents with travel costs. Teachers, apparently, are split half and half over the plans and a public consultation is planned for next year.
Now, if there is one thing that parents really hate it is being told what to do when it comes to their kids.
And, perhaps worse, is being made to feel guilty about it.
So while Mr Donovan’s message got the point across loud and clear, it won’t have made him any friends, a fact he himself acknowledged when he said ‘I’m not going to be Mr Popular for saying this’.
It will also make some mums and dads even more defiant, particularly as he then went on to admit that while parents of persistently absent children could end up being taken to a parish hall inquiry – or even the Royal Court – there is no fixed-fine mechanism in place like in the UK.
I’m not a rule-breaker and would hate to think that I was causing problems for teachers or other children, but if the situation is the same in two years’ time I will make up my own mind about term time holidays, thank you.
As a parent, from the moment you find out you are pregnant you are asked to make all sorts of decisions on behalf of your child, some big some small.
From the drugs you choose to take during pregnancy and the tests you have, to what you feed them when they do come into the world, how they sleep, how they are disciplined and so on.
With at least four years of that behind them, parents with children at school are qualified enough to decide whether or not to take their child out of class for a holiday.
I also got to see for myself recently just what an amazing impact travel and the new experiences that holidays can have on a child, even one as young as mine.
During a week-long trip to Dubai my son climbed to the top of the tallest building in the world, learnt about double decker aeroplanes, and met people from different cultures he’d never encountered before (including women in burqas who he soon got used to despite a somewhat shaky start involving a lift and lots of crying and pointing).
He heard different languages, tried different types of food, learnt about camels, dinosaurs, tropical fish and sharks.
He swam, ran around, played on the beach and basically had the time of his life.
In fact, by the end of the week he had progressed from joining two words to saying full sentences.
Whether you go far away or close to home, to Disneyland or embark on a full-on cultural onslaught to the most interesting place in the world, holidays are enriching, no matter how old you are.
They really are good for the mind and soul too.
Mr Donovan is, of course, just doing his job by issuing this warning, and he can’t say anything else.
But forgive me for not giving in to the guilt trip.
Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to take their children on holiday, whether in term time or not.
But for those who can, as long as there is balance and it doesn’t become too disruptive, parents are well qualified enough to make their own decisions about when they go.
