Summer School: The Smart Choice for Your Future Self
You’ve made lots of smart choices in your life, whether it’s the choices you make surrounding course selection, your choice of high school, or the choices within your relationships, such as spending time with your parents last weekend, or helping a friend or a sibling with homework. The choices you make today can lead to happiness, a sense of calm, and future opportunities. Reading this blog while pondering summer school – another smart choice, congratulations! Thinking about “Future You” will lead to great things, no matter what your final decision is.
Over 18,000 students (as of 2024) have chosen Ontario Virtual School to support their future. OVS offers flexibility, support and quality education that students have access to no matter the time of year or where they are. This flexibility makes Ontario online summer school with OVS a smart choice that doesn’t limit your summer enjoyment. Many students avoid summer school to take a well deserved break and relax, however, summer school may just be the smart choice to ease stress long term, while being able to relax simultaneously. Below are 4 reasons that summer school is the smart choice for students.
1. Routine
Humans are creatures of habit, and it makes sense! Habits can make us more efficient when completing tasks and they signal to our minds and our bodies what is coming next, creating a sense of calm or preparedness (Alana & Mendelsohn, 2019). The daily habits that encompass our daily routines are formed anywhere from 18 to 254 days (Cherry, 2026). For many, this means that in the two months off of school, new routines are formed which become hard to break in September (especially when those routines involve not setting an alarm to wake up to). In younger students, these breaks in routine can lead to tantrums. As students grow older and learn to manage big feelings, breaks in routine can trigger anxiety, avoidance, tiredness and more.
Summer school allows students to maintain some routine without completely losing their summer. Maintaining accountability to completing a course like EWC4U (Grade 12 Writer’s Craft) encourages students to follow a routine (even if it is much looser than their school year routine). The transition from spending 2 hours a day in your online course to a 6 and a half hour day at school is easier than going from 0 hours and not structured to 6 and a half hours of structure in a day school. Taking a summer school course makes for a smaller shift in routine come the new school year. See the 4 tips below to maintain a flexible summer school routine and to experience online high school student success:
These habits will help you stay in routine and manage your time wisely, alleviating future stress.
2. Managing Your Time
Successfully completing Grade 12 Chemistry (SCH4U) will not only keep students in routine, but it will alleviate space in your schedule come September. For students taking a full course load and working a part time job, this can have a snowball effect on their school year. Less stress due to one less course leads to higher averages across other courses. Whether students choose to take a credit they enjoy over the summer, like Grade 12 Business Leadership (BOH4M) or decide to work through a course they find more challenging, like Grade 11 Functions (MCR3U), the decrease in your course load will help them manage your time. Taking a flexible summer school course in the summers between the school years may mean not having to take an extra semester of high school.
3. Take courses not offered at day school
As an accredited online school in Ontario, we offer Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) credits to students all over the world. With such a wide reach, we are able to offer courses not always available to smaller schools. Courses such as Grade 11 Travel and Tourism: A Geographical Perspective (CGG3O), Grade 11 Spanish (LWSCU) or Grade 12 Fashion (HNB4M) are not always found in day schools but are valuable in providing students future opportunities. Students may even walk away with a new hobby after completing courses like Writer’s Craft (EWC4U). Summer school provides students with the opportunity to explore their interests from the comfort of their own home, or beach, wherever the summer and a wifi connection takes them!
4. Faster Credit Completion
With a typical public day school in Ontario, semester one runs from September to January/February, and semester 2 from January/February to June. This structure does not give students the opportunity to work ahead, or spend more time on more challenging topics in the course. As students leave day school in May or June, some students leave in a panic realizing that they are short a credit needed for their OSSD, or for their desired post-secondary program. This can involve students needing to upgrade their course mark, or repeat the course to obtain the credit (there are specific “upgrade/repeat” courses for these cases). OVS allows students to complete summer courses in a minimum of 21 days. Students who want their OSSD credits for September of the following school year can do so without needing to be online for specific times of the day. Students can access the course as they would like, and take time away as they need (so long as the course is completed within 365 days).
Just like eating your vegetables and going to the gym (even on days you don’t want to go), summer school is a smart choice for many students. This is why OVS offers ample flexibility to increase student access to course opportunities. Reach out to Ontario Virtual School today to see which course will be your next smart choice!
Q & A
- Q: Will taking summer school ruin my summer break?
A: Not necessarily! Online summer school through Ontario Virtual School is designed to be flexible, allowing students to work on their courses while still enjoying summer activities, vacations, jobs, and time with friends and family. - Q: How can summer school help reduce stress during the school year?
A: Completing a course over the summer can lighten your course load in September, giving you more time to focus on other classes, extracurriculars, work, and personal commitments. This can improve time management and reduce academic pressure throughout the year. - Q: What are the benefits of maintaining a routine during summer?
A: Keeping some structure during the summer can make the transition back to school easier. Maintaining habits like studying regularly, waking up at consistent times, and staying organized can help students avoid stress and feel more prepared in the fall. - Q: Can students take courses online that are not offered at their day school?
A: Yes! Online schools like Ontario Virtual School often provide a wider variety of courses, including unique options like Writer’s Craft, Fashion, Travel and Tourism, and Spanish that may not be available in smaller schools. - Q: How quickly can students complete a summer school course?
A: Students at Ontario Virtual School can complete courses in as little as 21 days, while still having the flexibility to work at their own pace within the 365-day access period.
Sources:
Cherry, K. (2022, May 24). How long does it take to build a habit? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/how-long-does-it-take-to-build-a-habit-5272517
Mendelsohn, A. I. (2019). Creatures of habit: The neuroscience of habit and purposeful behavior. Biological Psychiatry, 85(11), e49–e51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.978
Written by Katelyn Van Hezewyk (OVS Teacher)