To not understand why everyone is calling every school holiday "half term" all of a sudden?

[CollieFIower]

It's not "half term" now. Half term is literally halfway through a term - summer/Easter/Christmas holidays mark the end of a term.

One half term break is in October, between the summer and Christmas holidays.

One half term break is in February, halfway between the Christmas and Easter holidays.

One half term break is in late may, halfway between the Easter and summer holidays.

Then you have actual holidays that come at the end of a term, and a new term starts when school goes back afterwards.

It seems like over the last couple of years I'm seeing all holidays referred to as "half term" and I know it's hardly a big deal and yes I'm also worried about nuclear war and child poverty but it still annoys me a bit!

It irritates the hell out of me. It makes people seem thick (maybe they are).

It isn't a new thing though, so maybe I am just fortunate to no longer have school aged children (all three are now in their twenties).

I’m so glad it’s not just me feeing excessively irritated by this 😂. I started hearing from preschool last year and this year it seems to be everywhere.

The idea that it’s linked to school years now being done in six terms is even more bonkers, surely then there are no half terms, not more of them.

DH has been calling it half term since the DC were at school and they are in their 30s now. He still does it, despite me correcting him Every Single Time!

Why does it matter? I’m not being goady, at all, but why do people care about this? I’ve seen a few threads.

The break in the middle of term is called mid-term in Ireland, never half- term. It doesn't always fall half way into the term. Not sure why that's a WTF? It's a different country!

Yes, I know they say this in Ireland, but this person wasn't Irish and we weren't in Ireland and they were referring to the Easter holidays.

Yes I've noticed it but most surprisingly the teachers at my daughter's school are doing it too. So I wondered if there had actually been a formal change in terminology!

Yep - I'm an ex-teacher and got an email from someone last night (a young teacher) referring to the holiday as "half term"

YABU - it’s half term where I am. Term one = august to December. Term two = January to June. Half term - Easter and October (not sure why February is brought in to it when there’s no school holidays then?)

Sorry, I misread your post.

I've had kinds in schools for 10 years + and i've no idea about terms. that said, i always just call it the holidays - they come around too quickly to care which is which

I don’t have a school aged child so no clue when the school terms actually run. And all holidays were half term during the 90s in my area so call me thick and lazy if you want, but I’ll keep calling it half term to see you get all hot and bothered 😂

I suspect its because people don't know what to call it without mentioning Easter (which at my work is now on the banned list)

Half term holidays have always irritated me. DC adult now, so it doesn't bother me so much any more, but it always seemed like no sooner they were back, then they would have a week off again. I'm sure the teaching staff appreciate it so they can catch up, but otherwise it's a pain in the proverbial.

I do an adult exercise class, and even that stops for school holidays and half term. Why?

Technically we have no “half term” in Kent, as we have gone away from having 3 terms with a break in the middle, to having 6 terms. So the week in October is the end of term one, Christmas is end of term 2, February end of term 3 etc.
yet we still call them half term because there’s no agreed name as to what they will be instead (October week? October break? Halloween holiday?).

Because it's ridiculous . Rather like Wednesday the weekend !

like calling

Why is it on the banned list? What else is on the banned list?

Where? I'm guessing not UK.

I thought it was just an odd thing in my family! This explains a lot. They get so confused when I say it isn't half term!

@SmallAngryPenguinWoman Yes its always been called mid term here in Ireland. Though i actually heard on the radio this morning (2fm) as driving into work calling it mid term and was like no its Easter holidays, felt like ringing into her to correct her.

YABU

Why would you get so irate over something so petty.

I’m a teacher and will often say half term because it is literally half of the term and the topics I teach are half termly.

I think if people get annoyed over something as minor as this then they seriously need to figure out what’s wrong in their lives and maybe get some therapy - not being goady but there’s obviously much more going on.

How is it like that? It’s a school holiday. It matters not, surely? I don’t get why people are so angered by it?

The outcome is the same, kids aren’t at school.

I’m not one of the ‘I couldn’t get worked up about this’, brigade, but fuck me, I don’t get why people give a shit about this at all. 😆

Surely it’s the same as having a bank holiday Monday and people saying they’ve got a long weekend.

Monday isn’t technically a weekend day but it would be ridiculous and pedantic to get annoyed over someone saying it.

People don’t understand what they’re saying. The words are just sound to them. It’s not half term at Easter, it’s end of term.