News Release
August 20, 2009
For Immediate Release
Dufferin-Peel expands Newcomer Orientation Week Program
NOW gives newcomer students a head start in the Ontario school system
On August 24, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will launch Newcomer Orientation Week (NOW) at four secondary schools. The three-and-a-half day school based orientation program for newcomer secondary students is facilitated by the Multicultural, Settlement and Education Partnership (MSEP), and includes teachers, settlement workers, and peer leaders - fellow students who were newcomers in previous years. The program is funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) under the Settlement Workers in Schools program.
“The NOW program gives newcomer youth a head start in their new school by familiarizing them with the school building and routines, linking them to students already attending the school, and orienting them to sources of help, as well as the “culture” of the Ontario educational system,” said Joanna Kubica, Student Settlement Support Officer.
Last year, the program was piloted at Father Michael Goetz Secondary School in Mississauga and St. Edmund Campion Secondary School in Brampton. This year, the board has added two additional sites: Ascension of Our Lord Secondary School in Malton and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Secondary School in Mississauga.
Program activities include: group discussions on strategies for success, school scavenger hunt, dramatic scenes by peer leaders on what helped them adjust to their new school, visits to library and community centres, simulated timetable exercise and discussions about graduation requirements and support systems in the school.
Newcomer students interested in participating in the NOW program in Dufferin-Peel Catholic Schools, should contact the Newcomer Reception and Assessment Centre at 905-361-2344.
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For more information, please contact:
Ø Nancy Marshall, Communications Officer
(905) 890-0708 ext. 24278 or (416) 540-8126