August 1, 2013
Summer Programs Provide Learning, Fun Activities for Over 1,000 Students: Allan
– – –Summer Learning Camps Helping Students to Succeed in School: Chief
School may be out for the summer, but the learning continues for over 1,000 students enrolled in the province’s free summer learning camp programs, which offer quality learning, fun and adventure for students in grades 1 to 6, Education Minister Nancy Allan said today at Lord Selkirk School in Winnipeg.
“Summer learning camps are an excellent opportunity for students to keep learning, exploring and staying physically active during the summer. They give children who can use a little support in math, reading and science the opportunity to benefit from a summer learning enrichment program,” said Allan.
“We know that summer is a critical time to engage students in learning. Children who take part in summer programs get a head start on the year ahead and perform well in school,” said Children and Youth Opportunities Minister Kevin Chief.
The Manitoba government will invest over $1 million in summer learning programs across the province. In Winnipeg, the Community School Investigators (CSI) program is run by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Winnipeg in partnership with local school divisions. The programs are run by a teacher from the school, university students, high school students and parent volunteers who will support programs in 15 sites in Winnipeg, said Allan.
The CSI program provides summer learning opportunities to low-income students who would otherwise experience a gap in the learning cycle. Summer learning loss results in students falling behind by forgetting what they’ve learned the previous year and requires teachers to devote significant instructional time to reviewing the previous year’s material when students return to school. The CSI program prevents learning loss and helps students improve their academic skills so they are ready to succeed when school starts in September, Allan added.
Summer camp in the CSI program is also a lot of fun, said Chief. Each day students do activities to improve their reading and math skills, complete science experiments, play sports, make art, go on field trips to the Manitoba Children’s Museum, public libraries and the great outdoors, and participate in music and dance.
CSI sites in the Winnipeg School Division include:
- Lord Selkirk (new in 2013);
- Dufferin (children from Pinkham School also attend this site);
- John M. King;
- Champlain;
- David Livingstone;
- King Edward;
- Machray;
- Niji Mahkwa;
- Norquay;
- Shaughnessy Park;
- Sister MacNamara;
- Victoria Albert; and
- William Whyte schools.
CSI sites in the Pembina Trails School Division are:
- Ryerson, and
- Westgrove schools.
Other summer programs supported by Manitoba Education include:
- Frontier College Aboriginal Summer Literacy Camps in the six First Nations communities of Hollow Water, Grand Rapids, Waywayseecappo, Sioux Valley, Fisher River and Oxford House;
- the Louis Riel School Division summer learning program at Victory Wyatt School;
- the University College of the North Into the Wild summer learning enrichment program (modelled on CSI), which is offered in The Pas and Flin Flon; and
- the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine Summer Transitional Program, which targets immigrant children.
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