SLIPPERY ROCK TWP — Starting Monday, students in the Slippery Rock School District will find their school day extended by 10 minutes.

This is to help satisfy state requirements for the number of hours school is in session after several school days had to be canceled due to weather.

The district canceled school for six days this year, and only four makeup days are built into the school year schedule.

“We wanted to protect the integrity of the instruction day but also keep in mind the end date of the school year,” said Superintendent Alfonso Angelucci.

He said the 10-minute a day idea came about to keep the school year ending during the first week of June, rather than extending it into the second or third week.

Although 10 minutes is not a long time, Angelucci said that extra time per day will have an impact on students over the next few months. If the time was added for only a couple of weeks, he said it would not be as effective.

In the high school, one minute will be added to each class period. In the middle and elementary schools, a couple minutes will be added to each period and homeroom time.

The state requires that high schools and middle schools have 990 hours of instructional time. Elementary schools are required to have 900 hours.

The middle school now will be dismissed at 2:23 p.m. each day. The high school will be dismissed at 2:28 p.m., and the two elementary schools will be dismissed at 3:30 p.m.

The last day of school has been moved to June 5 from June 4. Also, April 2 and April 6, which previously were days off for students, now will be school days.

Graduation remains June 5.