Middle years learning camps are a hit
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/08/2020 (1033 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Louis Riel School Division has offered summer programming for students for a number of years.
ASPIRE (Academic Summer Program including Recreation and Education) is well known and well-established and continues to assist students in grades 1 to 4 grow as learners throughout the summer months. Our high school summer learning academy offers repeater and non-repeater courses in an engaging and collaborative environment.
This year, LRSD introduced Summer Learning Academy middle years interest camps for students in grades 5 to 8. Based at Glenlawn Collegiate, it provides quality instruction and guided exploration in the areas of arts, crafts, drama, games, music and sports. The response has been overwhelming, with many students signing up for multiple camps through the month of July.
On July 16, I had an opportunity to visit with students and teachers involved in the program and it was so exciting to see a classroom of students interacting with their peers and teacher. You could feel the positive connections.
Summer Academy principal Justin Bell, and vice-principal Warren Nightingale confirmed that parents and students have been very pleased with this program and have hopes that it will continue to be offered in future years.
I, along with school board chair Sandy Nemeth, and Trustees Chris Sigurdson and Robert Page appreciated the opportunity to ask questions about the program, to learn how it is positively impacting our students, and to hear firsthand the plans being considered for its possible expansion.
The LRSD board of trustees was happy to support the creation of this new learning academy. Ensuring our students have opportunities to flourish and thrive is at the core of our governance role. To hear that students are becoming more confident, developing leadership skills, and growing as independent learners is very much a part of the goals within our multi-year strategic plan. For the students themselves to tell us that they are having fun and making new friends, and to see them happy, engaged and interacting in a safe, inclusive and engaging environment brings new life to our vision and mission statements.
I left with a deep appreciation for the time and effort that has gone into ensuring summer programming was able to continue even in the time of a pandemic.
The commitment to ensuring that required protocols, procedures and practices were adhered to was reassuring. The opportunity to be in one of our schools, for the first time in months, reminded me of the importance and value of connecting with our school communities, administrators, staff and, of course, the students whose success is the focus of our work as your school board.
Tom Parker is a Ward 4 trustee for the Louis Riel School Division.
Tom Parker
Louis Riel School Division trustee report
Tom Parker is a Ward 4 trustee for the Louis Riel School Division.