district – n. an area or section of a country, city or town; an area established by a government for official government business

absent – adj. not present at a usual or expected place

report card – n. a written statement of a student's grades that is given to the student's parents

bending over backwards – idiom to work very hard to accomplish something for someone; to go out of one's way (to do something) (for someone)

backlash – n. a strong public reaction against something

Do you believe government-run schools should observe religious holy days? Should the holy days of all religions be recognized or only the holy days of religions with large numbers of members in the comunity? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the comments section.