Over the past few weeks, we at the ELC, have been promoting its educational program for next year’s students. After visits to the middle schools, parent meetings, an open house and many grade 9 student tours of our facilities, we have received some amazing feedback from our future students. We asked the students to answer this question: “Why do you believe your choice of NPSS or ELC is a good fit for you?” These students are very insightful and ready for change to take place in the world of education.  Please take the time to read their answers below:

ELC is a better school than NPSS for me because of various reasons.  For instance, it’s a smaller school and I seem to be more motivated and do better work in a close environment.  Also the 45 minute long classes are better than 80 minute long classes which make you feel gloomy, and dread the next class.  With short 45 min. long classes I feel more motivated and ready for the next class.  I love the idea of morning activities to get your brain going.  I have personally experience an improvement in my day of homeschooling when I go outside for a half hour and ride my bike or feed the sheep.  ELC really appeals to me the way it’s set up and ran.  I think it will be a fun learning environment surrounded with great people that want to be there as much as I do, and activities and sports.  I very much enjoy being around education and sports, put the two together and you’ve got the perfect school for me.  I like the idea of project based learning because I think it will help me later on in life with almost any career choice I decide upon.  I believe project based learning will be challenging and enjoyable at the same time.  I have learned through homeschooling to be motivated and excited about school, and I’m very excited about attending ELC next year.

I believe that ELC is the right fit for a number of reasons as follows.  I have been attending a small rural school with limited educational possibilities and I would like to expand my post-secondary opportunities by having a wider range of courses to choose from.  I am very enthusiastic about sports and physical fitness.  I currently play in a small rural hockey league, but I would really like to improve my skills in competitive sports with other students.  For the past several years, my family and I have been pursuing alternative forms of education, we have travelled extensively collecting knowledge through life, and education through correspondence, but I have never had the opportunity to attend a school that offers the amount of education I seek as well as the “out of ordinary’ curriculum I’ve always been interested in, combining my enthusiasm for sports with my eagerness to obtain the required courses I need to get into college (s) I need to attend.  I very much enjoy participating in team sports, however, I would like to improve on my leadership skills through teamwork, as I believe that is what leadership is all about.  I believe ELC would offer the right courses I need to acquire all of the education and teamwork skills I seek.

I have been looking forward to attending ELC ever since it started.  I was diagnosed with dyslexia in Grade 5 and I have always found hands on learning much easier than other methods.  I think that project based learning is a much more effective way for me to learn and would love to try it.  I am very involved in athletics and love this part of the ELC as well, especially the hockey.

These students inspire our commitment to the ELC program. I hope the public of Fort St. John are able to see what is right in front of their eyes and seize the opportunity to help change the direction of our educational future. We cannot keep reverting back to the old traditional ways. These students envision better ways to think of the future of learning institutions and we need to support them. I admire all the students, parents, teachers and administrators who continue to push for change.

Thank You

Sheldon Steele, VP ELC