Summer School 2016 in Grand Erie
Grand Erie’s 2016 Summer School program has students getting out of the house and into the classroom for the month of July.
For student Dwight Hill, that means spending a portion of his summer peeling himself off the couch and getting active in a Physical Education course at Brantford Collegiate Institute & Vocational School instead.
“It’s nothing but constant activity and that’s what I need,” said the North Park Collegiate - Vocational School student heading into Grade 10. “The teachers and everyone is awesome.”
Hill chose to pursue Summer School this year in an effort to get him out of the house and engage in a course that’s focused on activity and personal interest, like Physical Education. The fact that he’s earning a Grade 10 credit in the process is only a bonus.
Since school started on Tuesday, July 5, the students in his course have completed a variety of circuit training exercises, and a badminton tournament.
“I would do it all over again next summer for sure,” he added.
Over 300 students are at BCI for in-class Summer School, while another 100 are at the Hagersville Secondary School location. Beyond high school programming, there are over 20 students at the BCI site and 15 students at Hagersville from Grades 5-7 who are participating in Literacy and Numeracy programs to help prevent summer learning lag.
Garyn Rickwood, currently a Grade 7 student at Greenbrier Public School, thought ahead to her high school career and joined the Reach Ahead program to earn her Grade 9 Physical Education credit.
“I thought I should get the extra credit now so I can pursue other programs once I’m in secondary school,” said Rickwood.
She hopes to explore some of the arts when she starts high school in two years.
The appeal for independent learning this summer remains a high interest for secondary students. This year, there are 1,200 students enrolled in e-Learning, the online based program that allows students to complete the provided assessments on each lesson and the corresponding assignments at their own pace within the given parameters. Grand Erie offers 57 e-Learning courses for students to choose from.
Unique opportunities like the Dual Credit program are also an option for secondary students. Dual Credit students can attend college classes on campus or have a college faculty member come to the high school. Both the Construction Dual Credit program at Dunnville Secondary School and the Hair and Esthetics Dual Credit program at Grand Erie Learning Alternatives in Brantford were available this month. There, students earn a high school credit and a college credit within a two week period.
All Summer School programs wrap up on Wednesday, July 28, 2018.