As 2020 gets underway, the time has come for parents to register their children for kindergarten.
According to Rocky View Schools (RVS) Superintendent Greg Luterbach, registration for the 2020-2021 school year kicks off Jan. 13.
“We’re excited to serve a new batch of students and want it to be a very positive experience for families and for our youngest learners,” he said. “We’re excited for them to join our RVS team.”
While registration can be done in person at a child’s school or the RVS Education Centre in Airdrie, it is available online at rockyview.ab.ca
“Right on that main landing page, you’ll see a registration icon,” Luterbach said. “People can click on that and gather information.”
While there is no deadline to enrol students in kindergarten, Luterbach said he encourages parents to register early, as it helps the division with planning by ensuring enough teacher and classroom spaces are available to accommodate every student.
This year, RVS will see what Luterbach characterized as a minor change to student eligibility in order to comply with the new Education Act. All school divisions in Alberta will change to a common age of entry for kindergarten for the upcoming school year – students must be five years old by Dec. 31 in the year they begin kindergarten.
“For the fall of 2020, what that means is, in RVS, as in all other kindergarten programs across the province, students will have to be born in the year of 2015,” Luterbach said.
“That’s a change for RVS. We used to go all the way until Feb. 28. That was the same as a number of boards in our region.”
The result, he said, is that some students who would previously have been admitted into kindergarten this year will be kept out until the next school year, which will mean a smaller enrolment for 2020-2021.
“There will be less kindergarten classes in RVS next year, just because we’re in this transition,” he said. “Whereas we’ve normally had about 2,000 students every year in kindergarten through the last three or four year…we’re projecting that number should drop more into the 1,600 [to] 1,700 range.”
Luterbach anticipated enrolment numbers will be back to normal the following year.
For parents with children old enough to be registered for kindergarten, some information will need to be provided to RVS. This includes proof of the child’s age and legal name, which can be provided by way of a birth certificate, adoption certificate, school authorization visa or other documents. Families will also need to provide proof of the child’s address, which can typically be done with a utility bill or lease agreement. Other information like phone numbers for parents or guardians along with any pertinent medical information will also be collected.
Luterbach recommended parents also check out what types of orientation activities their child’s school will offer. Depending on the school, this could include meet-and-greets with teachers, tours of schools and presentations on kindergarten programs and French immersion. Information on what is happening at different schools is available on the RVS website.
“Going into new experiences can always bring anxiety with it,” Luterbach said. “Having kids and parents physically get into to schools, get to meet some of the people – it’s just a way to start building that relationship. We want that to be a positive relationship to support the student moving forward.”
In RVS, most kindergarten programs are half-day, with students at the school in either a morning or afternoon class for five days a week, although Luterbach noted programs may look different depending on the school.
“[Kindergarten is] a play-based program where kids learn through social activity, and it’s available in all of our schools,” he said.
