International school holidays and term breaks follow a predictable rhythm once you understand the structure behind them, but the exact dates still need to come from each school’s own published calendar. When families arrive in Qingdao from Singapore, London, Seoul, or Shanghai, one of the first practical questions our admissions team hears is how the school year lines up with grandparents visiting, ski trips, and Lunar New Year travel. It sounds like a scheduling question. In practice, it is the question that shapes a family’s whole year abroad.
At Qingdao No. 1 International School of Shandong Province (QISS), our calendar reflects a US-curriculum school year adapted thoughtfully for life in China. This guide walks through how international school holidays and term breaks are structured, which breaks to expect, how Chinese public holidays fit in, and how our families use time off well.
How International School Calendars Are Structured
International schools do not share a single calendar. A British-style school in Kuala Lumpur, an IB Diploma Programme school in Zurich, and a US-curriculum school in Qingdao will each divide the year differently. That surprises many parents at first.
Most schools run somewhere between 170 and 185 instructional days per year. Accreditation bodies set the floor. Our dual accreditation through WASC accreditation standards for instructional time and CIS holds us to clear standards for teacher preparation and student wellbeing. We are also active members of EARCOS (the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools) and ACAMIS (the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools), regional bodies that share best practice on international school calendar structure.
Semester, Trimester, and Quarter Systems
Three main models are used worldwide.
- Semester system: two long teaching blocks, typically August to December and January to June. This is the US Common Core calendar model, and the one we follow at QISS.
- Trimester system: three roughly equal terms, common in British-heritage schools (Autumn, Spring, Summer).
- Quarter system: four short blocks, more common in specific university-linked or Australian settings.
Comparing curriculum frameworks for your child?
QISS follows the US standards-based curriculum with AP courses, accredited by WASC and CIS.
Schools that follow the IB Diploma Programme often align with a semester or trimester model, with exams in May. AP-focused schools cluster their spring calendar tightly around the College Board’s testing window, also in May.
Why Accreditation Bodies Set Calendar Minimums
Instructional minutes matter. They protect the depth of learning that credit-bearing courses require, especially for high school transcripts read by admissions officers at universities abroad. Both WASC and CIS accreditation and school calendar requirements are reviewed during accreditation cycles.
For parents, the takeaway is simple. An accredited school’s calendar has been reviewed by outside educators. That is a quiet form of quality assurance.
The Standard Break Periods in a US-Curriculum School Year
Once you know the model, the school term dates at international schools begin to fall into a familiar rhythm.
Fall and Thanksgiving Breaks
Fall break usually lands in mid to late October, running three to five days. It gives students a mid-semester reset before assessments intensify.
Thanksgiving break follows in late November. Many US-curriculum international schools observe it with a long weekend or a full week, honouring the American roots of the model while giving families a natural travel window. Together, fall break, spring break, and the international school winter window shape most family travel planning.
Winter Break and Spring Break
Winter break is the longest break of the school year outside summer. It runs from mid-December through the first days of January, typically two to three weeks. Many families travel home to see grandparents during this window.
Spring break sits in early to mid April, around one week. It arrives just before AP season heats up, offering students a chance to rest and review.
Summer Break and School-Run Camps
Summer break at a US-curriculum school lasts roughly ten to twelve weeks, from mid-June through late August. That is longer than most local school systems in China, and it catches new families off guard.
We use the time well. Our QISS summer camps run for several weeks each June and July, keeping learning warm through art, sport, language, and STEM.
Professional development days appear a handful of times per year. On these days, teachers work on campus while students stay home. It is not lost time; it is when our faculty refine curriculum, calibrate assessments, and train in areas like the CASEL framework for social-emotional learning.
Chinese Public Holidays and the International School Calendar
Here is where families in China need specific guidance. A US-curriculum calendar does not simply ignore where the school sits, and school holidays in Qingdao carry both American and Chinese cultural markers.
At QISS, we observe the major Chinese national holidays that shape life in the city. National Day Golden Week in early October is honoured, giving families a full week that often blends with our fall break. Lunar New Year is observed too, though the exact length varies year to year depending on how the lunar calendar falls.
Lunar New Year break at an international school is usually shorter than at a local Chinese school. Local schools often close for four weeks or more around the festival. Our break tends to run one to two weeks, protecting instructional continuity while respecting the cultural moment.
Labour Day on May 1 and the Qingming Festival in early April are typically observed as one-day or short breaks, sometimes folded into a longer weekend. This matters for families planning short trips.
One practical note. Chinese public holiday dates are set annually by the State Council, and adjustments can happen close to the date. Always check our official published calendar rather than assuming last year’s pattern holds.
“Our calendar is a promise to families. It respects both the classroom and the country we call home.”, Mr. David Lindberg, Admissions
A Week-by-Week Look at the QISS Academic Year
Let us make this concrete for our own community.
First Semester: August to December
The QISS school year opens in late August with a soft start for Early Childhood and a full launch across Lower School, Middle School, and High School. If you are trying to pin down the school year start date at an international school in Qingdao, plan around the final week of August. New families join orientation events during the first two weeks.
Fall break lands in October, often aligned with National Day. Thanksgiving falls in November. First semester closes just before winter break in mid-December, with report cards and parent conferences before the holiday.
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Book a campus visit and our academic team will walk through the K-12 pathway with your specific goals in mind.
Second Semester: January to June
Classes resume in early January. Lunar New Year break follows, its exact timing shifting each year. Spring break comes in April.
The second semester carries the year’s biggest academic milestones: AP exams, Grade 12 graduation, end-of-year assessments, and our arts and athletics showcases. School closes in mid-June.
AP Season and the Spring Calendar
May is intense for our High School. We host around 100 AP courses in China exams each year as an authorised College Board test centre, which is rare in Shandong. Our average AP score is 4.0, and our average AP class size is 11 students.
The spring calendar is built to support this. Spring break in April gives students a review window. Exam weeks in May are scheduled with attention to student rest. Our 3:1 student-teacher ratio means AP candidates get real attention as tests approach.
How Families Use Term Breaks Effectively
Breaks are not empty space on the calendar. They are part of how a good school year works, and thoughtful term break planning for international families begins the moment the year’s dates are published.
For the two long breaks, winter and summer, most of our families plan international travel. These are the windows where you can leave China without missing instructional days. Book flights early; Chinese New Year airfare from Qingdao rises fast.
Shorter breaks are best used for rest. CASEL research on the role of breaks in social-emotional development is clear that unstructured downtime supports the same skills our Leader in Me program builds during the school week: self-awareness, regulation, and the ability to reset. Rest is not the opposite of learning; it fits what we mean by Living Well. A child who has decompressed comes back to school ready to think.
For families who want structure during breaks, we run options. Parents can explore our after-school activity program for term-time enrichment, and our summer camps for the long summer window.
Grade 11 and 12 families use breaks differently. University campus visits, application drafting, and standardised test preparation cluster into winter and spring breaks. Our college counseling at QISS team, guided by NACAC professional standards, maps these touchpoints for each family well in advance.
Common Questions Parents Ask About International School Calendars
What are the typical school breaks around the world? US-model schools run August to June with breaks in October, November, December-January, April, and summer. UK-model schools run September to July with half-term breaks in each of three terms. Australian schools run late January to December on a four-term calendar. Most Asian international schools follow either the US or UK model.
What if my family needs to travel during term time, not during a scheduled break? It happens more often than families expect, whether for a wedding, a visa run, or a grandparent’s health. Most international schools allow it but treat it as an excused absence you arrange in advance rather than a right, and teachers appreciate advance notice so they can flag what your child will miss. Ask the school how many days of term-time travel it will tolerate before it affects academic standing, and whether older students in exam years face tighter limits than younger ones.
Do international schools in China follow Chinese public holidays? Yes, with nuance. Most international schools in China observe National Day Golden Week and Lunar New Year. Shorter national holidays like Labour Day and Qingming are usually observed, though length varies. The full local Chinese school calendar is not replicated.
How long is summer break at an international school in China? Roughly ten to twelve weeks, from mid-June through late August. This is longer than the local Chinese public school summer break.
What happens on professional development days? Can students come to campus? Professional development days are for teacher training and planning. Students do not attend classes. Families receive the calendar of these days at the start of the year so they can plan childcare or short trips.
How do I get the official QISS academic calendar? Email admissions@qiss.org.cn or start an admissions inquiry online, and our team will send the current-year calendar directly. It is worth requesting early if you are still deciding between schools, since the calendar affects far more than the first day of term: it shapes when you can book flights home at a reasonable price, when grandparents can realistically visit, and which weeks are safe to pull a child out for a family event without missing a key assessment. Families relocating mid-year should ask specifically for the remainder-of-year calendar rather than the full annual one, so they are not planning around dates that have already passed.
Choosing a School Whose Calendar Works for Your Family
When you visit international schools in China, calendar fit is a fair thing to ask about. It is not a minor detail.
A few useful questions to raise with any admissions team:
- How many instructional days does the school year include?
- Which Chinese public holidays does the school observe, and for how long?
- How does the school handle make-up days for weather closures or unexpected disruptions?
- When are professional development days scheduled?
- Does the calendar align with the family’s other children’s schools, if they are in different systems?
Calendar alignment gets more important, not less, when a family has children in multiple schools or a parent on a corporate relocation package with fixed home-leave windows. It shapes whether the family can actually travel together.
Accreditation is your quality signal here. WASC and CIS both review calendar structure as part of their standards, so an accredited school has already been checked against a real benchmark. That protects your child’s academic transcript and your family’s peace of mind.
Come See the Calendar in Action
We would rather show you the school than describe it. Come walk our 48, 000 m² Laoshan campus, meet a teacher or two, and pick up a printed copy of our academic calendar with every break mapped out for the year ahead. Once a Shark, always a Shark, and it starts with a visit.
To arrange one, email admissions@qiss.org.cn, call +86-532-6889-8888, or schedule a campus visit online. Mr. David Lindberg and our admissions team will help you plan your family’s year at QISS from day one.
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