Dufferin-Peel offers iFun Orientation Program for newcomer secondary school students

August 26, 2015 · 0 Comments

The Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board will hold an iFun Orientation Program Sept. 2 at six secondary schools in Brampton and Mississauga.
The one-day school-based orientation program for secondary students who are new to Canada 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 iFun Orientation 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 Board Student Settlement Support Officer Joanna Kubica.
The iFun program will be offered at Father Michael Goetz, Ascension of Our Lord, St. Francis Xavier, Our Lady of Mount Carmel and John Cabot Catholic Secondary Schools in Mississauga and at Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School in Brampton. The program is available to all newcomer students registered at a Dufferin-Peel Catholic secondary school. Students from other schools in the district will be bused to the closest participating school to participate in the program.
Program activities will include group discussions on strategies for success, a school scavenger hunt, dramatic presentations by peer leaders on what helped them adjust to their new school, a simulated timetable exercise, and discussions about graduation requirements and support systems in the school. There will also be an opportunity for newcomer parents to meet with the schools’ administrators and guidance counsellors.
Newcomer students interested in participating in the iFun Program in Dufferin-Peel Catholic Schools, should contact the Newcomer Reception and Assessment Centre at 905-361-2344.