Summer School Reimagined

            While many students are working hard to wrap up the school year and looking forward to summer vacation, there are other students who will be continuing their learning throughout the summer months. Whether the motivation is to reach ahead, upgrade a mark, complete a prerequisite for their OSSD or create flexibility in their timetable, students have a number of options on how this can be accomplished. 

            Traditional Summer School

            The concept of ‘summer school’ might conjure up images of bored students in a hot classroom, staring out the window, eying the beautiful outdoors and enviously watching their peers enjoying summer activities. While not all traditional summer school courses are offered face-to-face and many school boards offer online summer schools, there are still restrictions in place in terms of how the courses are completed. There are typically strict deadlines within the course and there is certainly an end date by which course marks must be submitted. 

            Summer School Reimagined 

            Taking virtual online courses with Ontario Virtual School offers the best of both worlds. Students can take courses over the summer, but they don’t experience the same restrictions as other summer online courses offered by school boards. Instead of having to complete a course strictly within the month of July, OVS students can spend both July and August (…and many more months if needed!) completing any course of their choosing. What is more, students can complete coursework at their own pace. This means that vacations can be taken anytime in the summer and students don’t have to worry about being at the cottage for a week without internet access. On the other end of the spectrum, however, during July and August, all new registrations are eligible to be completed in as little as 21 days (as opposed to the standard 30 days minimum completion the other 10 months of the year!). 

            Paying the Price 

            It’s important to note that there is a price to pay for online courses with OVS. The cost of the course depends on the grade level: so, Gr. 9 or 10 courses, such as Gr. 10 History are $499.00 and Gr. 11 or 12 courses, such as Gr. 12 English, are $574.00. The great news though is that there are absolutely no hidden or additional fees! All necessary materials will be provided, either directly in the lesson attachments (e.g., worksheets and homework tasks) or in a course resource tab (e.g., course texts, practice evaluations, and assessments rubrics). Courses only require students to have access to a word processing program, such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. 

Enjoying the Summer is Priceless

While some might say that paying for summer courses is too expensive, others would say that having a flexible schedule and a social life in the summer is priceless! Being able to balance summer school learning with hanging out with friends, heading to the beach, playing a game of soccer or going for a hike whenever you want would be difficult to do when completing traditional summer school courses. Other advantages of online learning with OVS include re-watching lessons as needed and reaching out to supportive staff to help answer questions. Being able to choose when, where and how you want to learn is difficult to achieve anywhere else. 

            OVS Reviews Speak for Themselves

            There are students all over the world who have experienced summer school with OVS and who have had wonderful experiences. Some of the reviews below speak to the value of self-paced learning:       

Register Today! 

Take advantage of summer school reimagined and register with Ontario Virtual School today! Not sure where to start? Book an appointment with a Guidance Counsellor who can help you make the most of your summer. 

Written by Katelyn Van Hezewyk (OVS Teacher)