St. Clair Catholic’s first-ever Virtual Summer Learning Camp has been a tremendous success.  The camp, which ran for three weeks beginning July 6, will be winding down at the end of this week.

“Our focus throughout the Virtual Summer Learning Camp has been to engage our students in literacy and mathematics instruction,” says Laura Callaghan, Superintendent of Education.  “There are also plenty of fun activities, like a virtual field trip to the Toronto Zoo!”  

There are seven English classrooms ranging from Grades 1-2 to 3-4, and an additional English Language Learners’ classroom.  Two teachers and one Educational Assistant are assigned to each classroom.  The camp is supporting 120 students and runs for two hours each day from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. using Google Meet.  The day includes body breaks and mental health and wellbeing strategies are shared throughout the sessions. 

“In addition to literacy and math, we also have an important emphasis on mental health and wellbeing, as we offer supports to our students and families throughout the camp,” says Mrs. Callaghan.

One Child & Youth Worker or Social Worker has also been assigned to each ‘cabin’ – or classroom – to offer wellbeing strategies to students and families.  

Parents are invited to attend the virtual camp for the first part of each day, to learn the goals for the day and the ways in which they can support their child’s progress during camp.  

Each day following camp, teaching teams are engaged in professional learning and ongoing digital training.

At the secondary level, there were 319 students enrolled in online summer school, earning 459 credits.  St. Clair Catholic filled all of the allocated seats for the summer school program.  This year’s number reflects an increase from last year in secondary school summer online courses.