Summer school is just around the corner and School District 43 will be registering as many as 5,000 students this year for a host of courses, including new offerings for kindergarten and elementary school kids.
Registration for academic, skill-building and remedial courses begins as early as next week, and the program's principal is recommending people get an online account in advance.
"The big message right now is for students to register for an account through our website so when registration is available, they are ready to go," said Murray Peters.
Registration starts next week, with Grade 10 course registration open first on Tuesday, May 5 at 6:30 a.m. Registration for remaining programs is staggered throughout the month (check calendar dates and program details at www.sd43.bc.ca/summer) and generally stays open until July 3.
Enrolment has risen sharply over the years for free summer school courses that help students get ahead, maintain their learning or learn new skills, and now about one out of every six SD43 students goes to summer school.
"I think there is a much healthier appetite in our families to continue the learning in the summer and to find meaningful worthwhile opportunities for the kids in the summer," Peters said, noting most of the surge in enrolment comes from elementary and middle school students.
To that end, the district is adding some programs targeted specifically at youngsters; for example, new this year is a kindergarten-to-Grade 1 transition course, which Peters said will help children moving up to develop their numeracy and literacy skills.
The district has also added Montessori programs for K to Grades 1 and 2 in Language Arts, Grade 3, 4 and 5 math, and Grades 6, 7 and 8 Language Arts (grades are blended in Montessori).
A summer English language program for newcomer elementary school students has also been added. "This is geared for children that are new to Canada, new to English, and they're needing kind of a beginner, entry level English program," he said.
All the programs are free as they are funded by the provincial government.
Peters said more than 200 certified teachers will be hired to teach the courses, depending on enrolment, and several schools have been added to the roster offering summer programs, including Aspenwood elementary in Port Moody, and Coquitlam River elementary and Kwayhquitlum middle school in Port Coquitlam.
