Baltimore City Schools apologized to students, families and staff Thursday afternoon for scheduling parent-teacher conferences on Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur, considered the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, begins this year at sundown on October 4 and ends at sundown on October 5. The observance of the Day of Atonement involves fasting and attending services.

“We apologize for any harm caused by the unfortunate scheduling of parent-teacher conferences during Yom Kippur,” Baltimore City Schools said in the statement posted on Twitter. “We are reviewing future programming events to avoid conflicts with other religious observances as much as possible.”

The district said schools would be offering alternate days for parents to meet with teachers and sports games scheduled for Oct. 5 would be postponed.

Starting Thursday night, a Baltimore City school online calendar describes October 5 as an “early release day” for parent conferences. An additional calendar element indicates “day of observation; modified extracurricular activities; no test can take place.

Baltimore County schools are closed for students over the holidays with a staff professional development day scheduled, according to an online calendar which lists October 5 as “Yom Kippur”.