Back to school for Edmonton’s year-round students

While many students are still enjoying their summer holidays, around 1,300 Edmonton students were back in the classroom Monday morning.

St. Teresa of Calcutta is one of the schools that offers year-round schooling. As parents were dropping off their children at the school Monday, both said they’re excited to be back in the classroom.

“More than amazing…because I get to meet my friends again,” grade 5 student Adoneia Mageru said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "More than amazing…because I get to meet my friends again," grade 5 student Adoneia Mageru said.

“They’ve been coming here for three years now. I absolutely love it and so do they,” parent Kim Overacker said.

READ MORE: Edmonton Catholic opens doors for its year-round schools

St. Teresa of Calcutta principal Kyle Porter said having a shorter summer break makes the return easier for students.

“It takes us a shorter time to get back into that learning mode for students, so when they come back you’ll see it might take two weeks versus a regular school it might take three to four weeks,” Porter said.

The summer holiday for year-round program is five to six weeks, whereas the traditional program has a two month break. But, on top off the Christmas break, staff and students in the year-round program get an extra two weeks off in October and an additional week break in March that students in the traditional program don’t.

“We find this works in three of our inner city communities where both of the parents work and there’s no way they can take eight weeks off in the summertime,” Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Lori Nagy said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We find this works in three of our inner city communities where both of the parents work and there's no way they can take eight weeks off in the summertime," Edmonton Catholic Schools spokesperson Lori Nagy said.

READ MORE: Year-round school can help parents with summertime costs for kids

Overacker, who is a single mom and has two children in the program, said the program is ideal for her family.

“They don’t need two months of summer vacation. They get bored, especially my kids. They get five weeks which is enough for me and it’s enough for them because they’re excited.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "They don't need two months of summer vacation. They get bored, especially my kids. They get five weeks which is enough for me and it's enough for them because they're excited."

READ MORE: Breaking down the numbers: Can parents afford summertime care costs?

Principal Porter said staff make sure their students can still enjoy the final days of summer.

“You’ll find that we’ll take a lot of community walks and tie it into all curriculum.”

There are three schools in Edmonton’s Catholic district that offer the year-round program.