ESNS Elementary School Nutrition ServicesJanuary 25th, 2016
Franklin Families!
Exciting News! As you will be aware, Canada is in the process of welcoming many new Canadians as refugees from Syria. Some of these new Canadians are coming to the Kitchener-Waterloo area. Typically, when government-assisted refugees are welcomed into our area, they begin their Canadian lives at Reception House. Because of the challenges involved in receiving and supporting a large number of refugees who are arriving in a short period of time, Reception House has expanded its operations. One such site where temporary accommodations have been set up, is a hotel in the Franklin catchment area. As a result, Franklin Public school will be welcoming more than 30 new Canadian students over the next week. Your child’s classroom may receive anywhere from 0-4 new students.
The numbers will fluctuate over several weeks as Reception House and its partners work to secure longer-term housing for these families throughout the Region, which may take them out of the Franklin area. As a result, some of our new students may be here for only a short time, depending on the extent of the challenges associated with finding longer term housing. Of course, some of these families might find longer term housing in the Franklin area, in which case they will become part of the Franklin family for the foreseeable future.
Franklin is receiving additional human resources to support our new students and our existing students in larger, busier and more diverse classrooms! This includes English as a Second Language Teachers, Settlement Workers, Educational Assistants, and Child and Youth Workers. It also includes equipment and facility improvements. The Board has a Welcome Centre Team that has been working hard to assess each child’s strengths and to support the families and the schools for these new students to make a successful transition to school in a new country!
We are very excited to be such an important part of these families’ new beginnings! Providing a welcoming environment is the top priority for these children and families. They have come a long way and through difficult times and I think our community can be a very positive force in their lives.
For more information:
http://www.wrwelcomesrefugees.ca/en/index.asp
http://www.wrdsb.ca/learning/wrdsb-welcomes-refugees/