On a teacher training day, workshops include circus skills

City students will stay home for an odd midweek break tomorrow and teachers will head to training sessions during the weekday formerly known as Brooklyn-Queens Day.

From 1829 to 2006, schools in Brooklyn and Queens were closed on the first Thursday of June so that students could honor their Sunday school teachers with parades and parties. Over time, the original purpose was mostly lost, but schools in the two boroughs continued to shut their doors one day each June. That all changed with the 2005 teachers contract, which extended the day off to students across the city but turned it into a professional development day for teachers.

Now it’s called “Chancellor’s Conference Day for staff development related to the Regents High Learning Standards and Assessments,” according to the Department of Education’s calendar, and teachers are required to report for duty. (“Students IN ALL FIVE BOROUGHS will NOT be in attendance,” the calendar warns.)

That doesn’t mean the day will be all work and no play for city teachers. Workshops offered at schools across the city tomorrow include circus skills and hip-hop dance classes at Lehman High School in the Bronx and an introduction to rugby seminar at Bayard Rustin High School in Manhattan. Those classes support the system’s wellness policy, according to Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg. Other workshops will focus on other subjects.

Some museums and cultural institutions have special events planned for students tomorrow. The Brooklyn Eagle has a roundup.