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Area parent hoping for 'a real school experience' for JK kids

'We see over 3,000 students a year register for our public schools, so it is a pretty big process,' says public board superintendent
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Children turning four in 2023 are able to begin school this September.

Every January, both the public, Catholic and French school boards prepare themselves for the beginning of kindergarten registration and local parents begin the process of getting their little ones ready for their first day of "big kid" school.

Katherine McCleary is a mother of two, whose youngest child, Daniel, will be starting junior kindergarten in the fall.

When it came to registering her daughter, who is currently in Grade 2, McCleary says she was quick to jump on the task, but this time around, admits she’s a little slower in getting all the paperwork filed out.

“It definitely feels like that guilt over the second child where you’re not as gung-ho and you’re not as on top of it,” she said. 

Although her son is ready and excited to begin school, the Oro-Medonte mom admitted that, given how much things have changed since her daughter enrolled for school, she’s a bit nervous for what things will look like for her son leading up to his first day.

“Our oldest enrolled in school before the pandemic and they got sent a welcome package and there was a certificate for the fridge. … I just don’t know if that has been lost over the pandemic because that would be kind of sad,” McCleary said. “They used to do stuff to get kids excited. Claire got to test out riding the school bus and (got) a tour of her classroom. There were so many things to get the kids excited for school.”

No matter what the fall looks like for him, McCleary said her son is simply excited about being able to finally join his older sister.

“Being the oldest kid in the daycare, he is ready to go to school. He’s ready to be with the big kids,” she said. “We are looking forward to, hopefully, a complete and full school year because (our) oldest hasn’t had that experience.

"This year is hopefully — fingers crossed — the first full year of school that she’s doing. We are just hoping that this JK class gets a real school experience.”

That excitement will definitely be mixed with some sadness when the time comes, she added.

“I am sure that sadness will come that first week of school when it becomes real, because it’s the paperwork and the reminders that you have to be home to get them off the bus and do all those JK and SK things," McCleary said. 

Children turning four in 2023 are able to begin school this September, and since opening up online registration for the 2023-24 school year on Jan. 1, the Simcoe County District School Board has seen an increase in kindergarten registration of approximately 32 per cent compared to the same time period last year, according to board officials.

Although kindergarten registration with the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board isn’t set to officially launch until Jan. 31, superintendent of student engagement and learning (K-12) Christine Monteiro-Almeida said they are anticipating approximately 1,500 new kindergarten students this fall. 

Monteiro-Almeida noted that number will serve to maintain the growth the Catholic board has been seeing in recent years, adding the board continues to see significant growth in Tottenham, Bradford and Innisfil.

“There are two new schools that will be opening, but we don’t have the dates yet — one in Tottenham and one in Bradford and we have a new Innisfil school opening in September," she said. 

Although the Catholic board’s official launch isn’t scheduled for a few more weeks, families are able to register now, she noted, adding that registering early helps the board plan for the 2023-24 school year. That said, even if a student is not registered until right before the first day of school, they will be “welcomed with open arms.”

Chris Samis, superintendent of student achievement (K-6) and special education for the public board, noted they are also expecting to see continued enrolment growth, particularly in the southern parts of the county.

Both Samis and Monteiro-Almeida told BarrieToday that although registration continues to occur throughout the course of the year, board officials definitely welcome early registration, as it allows them to plan accordingly. 

“We see over 3,000 students a year register for our public schools, so it is a pretty big process,” said Samis, adding registering early not only as a benefit to school boards in allowing them to plan for the fall in terms of staffing, but also gives them the opportunity to begin a relationship with the families of the incoming students.

“It gives us a group of people to communicate back to start seeing if there are additional support (a child) needs. Have they had additional support before? So it’s not just submitting your information and it goes into the great abyss," he added. "It actually starts that communication where we begin Welcome to Kindergarten nights and sharing resources.

"It starts developing that bond between a family and their child’s school. If it’s their first child, it’s a pretty big step for families to start thinking about what does September 2023 look like and what does kindergarten look like?

“The first part is registration — and yes, the earlier the better, because it allows us to know where we need to be in terms of staffing and the operational pieces like where we need portables or buses,” Samis said. “It sounds operational, but it’s emotional and there are a whole bunch of things that begin in that journey — most importantly the beginning of that relationship between the school and the family.”

Officials at both boards say they're excited to return to welcoming new families back into the school, something they have been unable to do since prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As we emerge from COVID, we go back to where there’s an opportunity for families to come in and see what school looks like, meet the teachers and educators. That’s all coming back and we are thrilled that it’s coming back,” said Samis. “The transition for a three-and-a-half or a four-year-old to come into school is something that takes time to be able to do that.

"Going in the spring for an evening to meet staff, getting ready to ride the bus … those are all things that we are thrilled are back.”

These types of in-person events are important in beginning to establish both communication and connections between a school and the families. 

“Parents are giving us their greatest treasure, so providing families with the opportunity to make a connection with teachers, with staff and really develop those relationships,” she said.  

Families can start the registration process on the registration page on the SCDSB website. For information about how to register with the local catholic board, click here.  For Conseil scolaire MonAvenir, click here and for Conseil scolaire Viamonde, click here.