Stepin High School Info-Tour

“German students can expect to be given a lot of attention, both in their homes and at school. We have many good families offering placements to our students, and they do so because they are interested in having a student from another country live with them. We are also well staffed, as we have two full-time homestay coordinators who look after the needs of our international students.”
(Larry Richardson, Academic Advisor International Student Program)

Knapp zwei Stunden von Toronto entfernt liegt die kleine 50.000 Einwohner-Stadt Belleville, Zentrum des Schulbezirks Hastings and Prince Edward. Das am nördlichen Ufer des Lake Ontario gelegene Städtchen ist vor allem wegen seiner schönen Lage und der vielen exzellenten Sport- und Freizeitmöglichkeiten weit über die Grenzen der kanadischen Provinz Ontario hinaus bekannt.

Die weiterführenden Schulen des School Districts zeichnet ein hervorragendes akademisches Niveau aus. Jede Schule bietet Kurse in Kunst, Wirtschaft, Computer, Sprachen, Technologie und Sport an. Spezialangebote wie Modedesign, Theater, Sportwissenschaften ergänzen die Palette.

Larry Richardson, Academic Advisor International Student Program, beschreibt die Qualitäten und Vorzüge der Schulen des Districts mit den folgenden Worten.

“Our program is aimed primarily at students in the ages 13 to 19, who wish to come to Canada to complete their high school studies, or to improve their English skills while gaining insight into another culture. All students also gain a much higher sense of independence and maturity from the experience, which is important to their family, who see it as vital for the student’s future. We are a public school system, so all students stay with local families in a homestay situation. Our international students also have a great variety of sports and activities to become involved in, which we feel is vital to their success and enjoyment while studying in our schools. We have four high schools that offer placements, and restrict the number of international students to 30 in each school, with a good cross-section of students from the 10 countries from which our students currently come.”

Richardson, der seit 10 Jahren für das International Students Programm des Schulbezirks tätig ist, betont weiterhin, dass deutsche Schüler gerade in Hastings and Prince Edward hervorragende Möglichkeiten haben, ihre Englisch-Kenntnisse zu verbessern:

We have a lot of recreational activities available to our students, and being in an English language community (95%), we offer our German students a great opportunity to develop their English skills. Each year we have between 120 and 130 students from 10 countries, and we are hoping to expand those numbers and the countries in which we work to invite a broader cross-section of students.

Für alle, die sich für ein Auslandsschuljahr im englischsprachigen Teil Kanadas interessieren, dürfte der Hastings and Prince Edward School District auf jeden Fall eine interessante Option sein. Und während der High School Info-Tour besteht die Möglichkeit, Larry Richardson persönlich zu treffen und ihn über die Vorzüge der dort ansässigen Schulen zu befragen.