Talk to the school as early as possible about this date. Obviously, you have no control over that date and family is something even Swiss school directors understand. But two weeks... wow...
... you might rather have a couple of days in order to go back there for the event and be back right afterwards. Missing school is a big deal here, as you obviously know.
My understanding is that school children can apply for 2 joker days a year. They school says yes or no.
As for longer periods, well you can ask politely and they may say yes. Or they may say no. If you take the kids out anyway they can fine you - this happened to a friend of mine. It is not a small fine i think.
This is my, admittedly limited, experience of asking for time off school.
My son had to have time off this year to recover from an operation. He spent a week at home to avoid infection.
I asked the teacher to give me some work for him so he would not get too far behind (he is grade 1). Maybe if you decide to ask for the time off this could me mentioned in your letter to show the school your committment to them?
It seems to be very variable based on the whims of the director of your child's school. Some say a flat no, others allow some time based on what's reasonable. Two weeks to go to Australia for a parent or sibling's wedding might be, two weeks to go somewhere in Western Europe for an aunt's birthday party won't be...
However much it makes sense to take a long break and double it up with a good bout of family visiting in the country you're visiting, the school usually takes the view that you go, attend the event, and come back as soon as possible.
Knowing the Baselland school authorities, I'd say the only way to show commitment is to go to school according to plan. One day to make a three days weekend should be all right if it is a family matter that people normally can relate to and understand the emotional importance of.
It depends though totally on the school. Don't count on support from the higher powers of school authorities against the school.
You need to ask the teacher asap. Some teachers ask for an official written letter. Two of my friends were able to get their daughters out of school(Public) for two weeks. One was in the 2nd grade and the other in the 4th grade, different Gemeinde. It all depends on the teachers and the schools.
Our schools have a policy of you can't extend any holidays or vacation of any kind. Not even with a special request. I tried very hard once to have my son leave school two days earlier for a trip to U.S. but no way. Then those two days at school they didn't really do anything. Also they told me we couldn't extend the school start up either, then the first week of school they went hiking, and to the city swimming pool as the classrooms were to hot.
In the early 80s, my parents were able to get me out of school (Eaux-Vives, downtown Geneva) for Christmas 1-2 days in advance, and I also had the privilege of spending a week in England around my birthday (end of January) through patient petiioning. Give it a go but don't expect miracles (it probably helps if your children are in advance on their respective classes).
Yes, they are sticklers here...I had problems when my daughter was in first grade in Germany when I asked to take the Friday off before the 1 week fall break as we were traveling to the US for the week. In the end I was begrudgingly given permission, but I had to right a sob story letter about how we were having a family reunion and I threw in how much we valued our daughter's education, etc! Of course, the Friday before a break, when the kids get out at 11 am anyways and have 2 hours of gym class as well is not a big learning day, but I guess it is a cultural thing. In the US, I think most schools will give you permission. Since that experience, I am afraid to try...although it is nice to at least have the 2 joker days here. Not everyone has Oma and Opa from both sides right around the corner...
But two weeks - I guess there have been some cases so you should definitely try, maybe now at the end of the year when teachers are happy and looking forward to their break! Where are you looking to go, out of curiosity?
The rules vary from place to place and time to time. However, I can give you recent Binningen experience. Our kids got one day off when they'd used up their joker day for the semester already - it was a family event that had suddenly come up. As our kids were in secondary, it was a matter of getting permission from all the teachers + the head teacher! Primary is easier, as there is just the class teacher.
Two weeks is, in my view, highly unlikely though. If you don't ask, you definitely won't get, but don't get your hopes up.
The two weeks after the Christmas break is, I seem to remember, still in the first semester. Be respectful and have good reasons. One of my friends got his kid 2 weeks out of kindergarten to go to Australia for a family event, once they'd promised he wouldn't miss any more school, and wouldn't be late ever again. Two weeks for a family event in the UK is unlikely to wash!
You can always de-register the child (Abmelden) from Switzerland go away for a few weeks and come back and reregister them. Nothing to stop you doing this. It would be an interesting scenario with the authorities, but I guess there is nothing they could do about it. If we had to go on a long trip, I would do this. I did get four days off for my fathers funeral in the UK earlier in the year, but had to take days either side of a weekend to make the best use of the time and travel arrangements.
We took an extra four days before Easter last year in order to have almost three weeks in Australia. Because my daughter was in Kindergarten I was able to use the four joker days she had accrued over her two years of Kindergarten in one go. I wrote a letter to the teacher well ahead of time and there was no problem.
At the moment, my daughter has the joker days for her first three years of primary school available for use (six in total). We are planning on using some of them to tack on to the October holidays to go to Australia again. I will check with my daughter's teacher in the next couple of weeks, and then write a more formal letter before the end of this school year.
It seems to me that each school/area/whatever has its own system and own idea about what is acceptable. Talk to other parents from your area to find out the best approach. But I agree that two weeks is probably pushing it, especially if it's likely you'll want to pull your daughter out again another time.
That may be so, but if you need to get away for family reasons and it is deamed more important to have this time away, then why not. The school Director is not God. I understand disruption in the class, loss of continuity, but frankly there is more to life these days. As it was written in the NZZ by a reader, there are reasons these days why international families have to be away from Switzerland, family weddings, funerals, to visit family grandparents, visit a sick family member etc. Not all parents jobs are geared around when the school holidays fall and if you are talking about visiting the Southern Hemisphere, then holidays are different. I do know of a family who went to Cameroon for three weeks (the father came from there) and obtained the permission. The child has a right to schooling, so I think it is unlikely that a school director would not allow a child back, since they have to provide schooling. The OP has not told us where they would like to travel too and what is the reason, just a family event.
True that we don't know the exact reason. I had once a student who was allowed to come to school later at the beginning of the year because of a complex russian-canadian divorce and immigration issues. That's a hell of a good reason to miss some weeks of school for any Swiss school.
Keep your arguments for the school director, you don't need to argue the case with me Not sure it's a good idea to say that family is more important than education though... just my experience with the system (but I teach older students). This is not a euphemism, I really am not sure. No definite opinion about that argument, just a doubt.
The "right to schooling" argument however won't work. You have a duty to comply to the school regulations. You have a right to education and a duty to schooling, but not force schools to comply to your rules. The schools are by no ways obliged to accept a student if the family does not respect its duties towards schooling in that school. This family might have to exercise its right to education in another school. Make a difference between schooling and education and you'll understand school director's reasoning better. I am not saying school is always right, I am just telling you that there is a fallacy in your reasoning due to this conceptual distinction.
Perhaps the family is ready to pay the fine and life just goes on. If they think it's worth it, fine by me.
How can they enforce the school regulations, if the child is not registered in Switzerland, albeit for a short space of time. It really makes me sad that Switzerland's answer to everything is just send them a fine. Your family is your family and surely the most important structure in a 'normal' childs life.