Programs
French Immersion
Students will receive a French Immersion Certificate from the Rainbow District School Board if they have acquired at least 10 credits in subjects taught in French. At least four of the credits must be in French.
The students who enroll in French Immersion do so primarily to learn French. All activities either in the classroom or out of the classroom are planned to enable the student to further develop his/her communication skills.
Co-op Education
The Co-operative Education Program at Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School involves a partnership between education and business. Students start with two weeks of in-school lessons where they learn job interview and resume writing skills, complete quizzes to identify their interests, skills and abilities, review health and safety issues, and receive WHMIS training.
Students then begin their co-op placements. Placements can be in a wide variety of work areas including automotive, educational settings, health care areas, information technology, computer sales as well as office, clerical, and accounting.
These placements have provided students with challenging opportunities to apply and extend their knowledge and practice and refine the skills acquired in their related in-school courses. This year’s co-op students have had the opportunity to acquire skills that reflect the high standards of our local workplaces. Many thanks go out to the employers who volunteered their workplaces and their time to help supervise and encourage our co-op students.
Credit Recovery Program
The Credit Recovery Program at LEP was established in January of 2006 with the support of a grant from the Student Success Initiative.
As a result, the Credit Recovery Program was ‘up and running’ at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year, when every secondary school in Rainbow District School Board was mandated to run a credit recovery program. Students who are unsuccessful in obtaining Grade 9 or 10 Applied credits in any of eight compulsory subjects, but who achieved a mark of at least 35%, can ‘recover’ those credits by completing a condensed version of the curriculum in the form of independent learning modules.
Research has shown that most of the students who are ‘at risk’ in our secondary schools have not missed credits because of academic difficulties. Rather, they tend to be students who learn best outside the traditional classroom setting. The smaller, more informal setting of the Credit Recovery room allows for each student to proceed at his or her own rate and obtain more individualized assistance.
Students who are able to achieve their compulsory credits are less likely to drop out of secondary school before graduation. Programs such as Credit Recovery address the need for teaching strategies based on individual learning styles so that all students have an equal chance to achieve their potential.
Drama at Lo-Ellen Park
Drama at Lo-Ellen Park covers a large range of curricular and co-curricular activities. The Grade 9 developmental drama course tries to ensure that students enhance their self-confidence and self-esteem while improving their problem-solving skills through constant group activities that are as entertaining as they are challenging. Students have the opportunity to work with tableaux, pantomime, improvisation, monologues, dialogues, script work, and scenes. Senior drama classes go deeper into character development and play production, and many of these plays are presented for the school community.
The LEP Theatre Company, through its Musical Theatre credit course, has been presenting large-scale musical productions since the mid-1980s, and people are always impressed by the polished professionalism of these productions. Some of the most popular and influential shows in the history of Broadway have been presented to great acclaim. Musical Theatre students also present an annual variety show of skits, sketches, songs, and dance numbers. The Variety Show plays to packed houses every fall.