Schools need Grade Primary numbers

Children may enter school if their fifth birthday is on or before Dec. 31, not in October as previously used.

Pat Morash, principal for Milton Centennial and Mill Village Consolidated schools, said the move was made to be “more in line” with jurisdictions in other provinces. The earlier deadline had created transfer problems, she explains.

However, schools are not certain how many students will be enrolling in school next year, which, of course, is what staffing formulas are based on, she says.

The South Shore Regional School Board wants to start planning for next year this month, although it has given schools an extension on registrations.

Morash says accurate enrolment figures could make a big difference in terms of the numbers of teachers and support staff, such as PSAs schools receive.

She says some parents, however, are not certain if their children will be ready for school at age four and, therefore, may be adopting a “wait and see” attitude. “The problem is I need the raw numbers. It’s much easier to say I’ve changed my mind and that my child’s not ready for school. However, we don’t want 10 or 15 parents to come and say their kids are coming to school and we don’t have enough staffing.”

The result could be overcrowded classrooms, and not enough support personnel, she says. “It really impacts us.”

In Milton, in particular, she says the school requires about 10 more students to get another teacher.

She laughs. “But I’m not trying to recruit kids.”

She adds she doesn’t blame parents concerned about their children’s maturity levels, but reiterates they can register now and change their minds. “They don’t see any urgency because they have never had any urgency before and nobody knows a child as well as the parent does.”

To register, just call the schools. North Queens, Greenfield, Mill Village and Milton are the county’s Grade Primary schools.

The basic information needed includes a birth date, registration number on a birth certificate, and health card number.

Morash adds orientation will be held the first week of May and “which class a child ends up in depends on the number of classrooms.”

Greenfield Elementary School Vice-Principal, Marsha Freeman said it’s not as big a problem in sparsely populated areas but agrees with Morash larger schools, in particular, need to know the numbers. “We’re encouraging parents to register their children. If they change their mind in August, we’re still prepared for that with staffing so I think it’s really important to sign up. One child can make a difference.”