YCDSB offering crash course in Canadian schools for Newmarket's newcomer students

The virtual programs will include fun activities and discussions on what newcomers to Canada can expect at local schools

Newmarkettoday.ca
Aug. 5, 2021
Elizabeth Keith

Newcomers to Canada who are going into high school in Newmarket can get a crash course in the Canadian school experience from the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB).

The YCDSB is offering two free programs to newcomer students in partnership with Catholic Community Services of York Region and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

The first is Newcomer Orientation Week (NOW), which is a two-day virtual workshop with a number of activities and sessions aimed at helping high school students understand what to expect, including a virtual scavenger hunt of school services, timetable exercises, and talks about graduation requirements, extracurricular activities  and more.

It also gives them a chance to make new friends ahead of the start of the school year.

For students starting at Sacred Heart CHS in Newmarket, the session will take place on Aug. 26 and 27 and will be hosted from Our Lady Queen of the World CHS in Richmond Hill.

Students who want to register have to do so by contacting the designated settlement workers. For the Newmarket program, students can call 416-918-2182 or 416-509-4429 or email cmateo@ccsyr.org or cliu@ccsyr.org to sign up.

There are four other NOW programs taking place for different schools in Richmond Hill, Vaughan, and Markham and students whose school isn’t participating can still reach out to 905-731-8281 about joining a session.

The second program offered by YCDSB is the Welcome and Information for Newcomers (WIN) program, which is for newcomer elementary school students.

The one-day workshop will also be held virtually on Aug. 27 for students and their families from all across the board.

It will cover typical routines, education requirements, practices and protocols, and how to succeed and adapt to Canadian schools.

Families who are interested in signing up can do so online or by contacting the school settlement workers by calling 416-616-2989, 647-297-3902, or 416-807-8014.