Sanford grads get a head start on degrees

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This article was published 01/07/2010 (5558 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Some recent Sanford Collegiate grads are getting a head start on their post-secondary education.

A number of 2010 grads are expected to earn their first-year university calculus credit before they start their undergraduate studies this fall. It will mark the first time Sanford students have accomplished such a feat.

Nine of 80 graduating students from the school took their first-year calculus exam at the University of Manitoba on June 18. If they performed as expected, they will already have a university credit to their name by the time the fall session begins.

Sanford math teacher David Suffield spent countless hours helping the students prepare for the exam and said he expects them to pass with flying colours.

“These are definitely the brightest kids in the building,” Suffield boasted.

Jennifer Bell, 18, who lives in La Salle, was one of the students who took the calculus exam. Even though she admitted to being a little nervous prior to the exam, she said it was a risk worth taking.

“This was a good opportunity for us,” Bell said. “Having taken calculus here at Sanford, I think I will get a better mark then I would have in university because we get so much one-on-one time with Mr. Suffield to learn the material.”

Bell, who will be entering first year engineering at U of M in September, said that university class sizes can be intimidating especially coming from Sanford Collegiate. She believes that calculus would have been more difficult to learn in a university setting. She thinks that the calculus program at Sanford really prepared her for her upcoming academic studies.

Beth Lyttle, 18, who hails from Sanford, said the program was a great opportunity for her and her classmates to get a headstart on their post-secondary educations.

“This is a good start to getting our university degrees,” Lyttle said.

Lyttle plans to attend McMaster University this September to study health sciences. She has her sights are on pre-med, but she is keeping her options open for now.

Bell and Lyttle both said they welcomed the challenge the calculus course presented.

“The challenge of getting the answer is why I like calculus,” Bell said.

“Knowing there is a right answer and then having to find it is the best part,” Lyttle added.

The two young women also agreed on the important role Sanford Collegiate played in their academic success
“This school is about community and knowing your teachers,” Lyttle explained. “You really get to build a relationship with them and I think that is why so many of the school’s graduates do so well in the long run.”

prescott.james@canstarnews.com