Summer School Now Offered at SMCS
A new programme starting this summer at St. Michael’s College School (SMCS) will provide more opportunities for students to develop new skills, get ahead, and experience the school in new ways.
For the first time, SMCS will be offering a full summer school programme for students.
“We want to provide students with a chance to take more courses and potentially reach ahead academically,” says David Lee ’94, vice principal and summer school programme lead. “The e-learning format also allows them to develop greater digital literacy, transferable skills, and experience a different learning opportunity.”
All SMCS Summer School 2022 courses will be instructed in an asynchronous format, where students will be expected to log in daily to review content, participate in virtual class discussions, and complete assignments. Although most of the academic content is online, some courses may require in-person attendance on specified days to complete tests or labs.
“The experience will be similar in that all courses are taught by SMCS faculty members and will maintain the high academic standards we expect,” says Lee. “However, the format of the course allows students to complete work on their own time and provides them with an opportunity to develop more time management and organization skills as well as a greater amount of independent learning.”
Full-credit courses constitute 110 hours of instruction, student work, and participation, while half-credit courses comprise of 55 hours.
“Students need to be much more disciplined to succeed in an asynchronous online course. Since they are not in class at a specific time with a teacher present, they have to be more responsible and plan their time appropriately,” says Lee. “There is a greater amount of independent learning taking place as well. Students are exposed to more experiences that leverage digital technology such as video lectures and interactive slide shows. All of these help to develop important transferable skills.”
With new changes to the Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) now calling on high school students (who entered Grade 9 in the 2020-21 academic year) to complete at least two online courses prior to graduation, SMCS summer school courses will support current and even prospective students (where space permits) in completing these requirements.
“At all times, we try to maintain the academic rigour that is present in our traditional courses. A St. Michael’s academic experience should not only cover curriculum but should prepare students for life beyond the classroom,” adds Lee, on what differentiates our summer programme. “Additionally, we teach our courses over a longer period of time – a traditional summer school course lasts 20 days while ours are 26. This allows students to spread out their work and take part in other, important, summer pursuits such as working, volunteering, and other activities. Students are also able to explore concepts more deeply over this longer period of time.”
For the summer 2022 term, SMCS is offering the following courses:
- Learning Skills – GLS1OS (Grade 9)
- Civics – CHV2OS (Grade 10, ½ credit)
- Careers – GLC2OS (Grade 10, ½ credit)
- Science – SNC2DS (Grade 10)
- Sports and Business Marketing – IDC4US (Grade 12)
- Writer’s Craft – EWC4US (Grade 12)
- Data Management – MDM4US (Grade 12)
“We are open to providing additional course opportunities in the future,” says Lee, regarding how the programme may expand in years to come. “One consideration is to ensure that the nature of the course aligns well with an asynchronous online format.”
Registration for Summer School 2022 will take place April 4–8, 2022. Any registrations received after April 8, may be placed on a waitlist if the desired course is full.
Current SMCS students will have priority to enrol in summer school courses, with new and incoming students given the opportunity if space permits.
A digital sign-up form will be available through the Guidance Department following March Break for interested students.
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