Spring break has started for many students in Ontario and that means that ¾ of the secondary school year has passed. Summer is coming very soon! However, with the COVID-19 pandemic still at large in many parts of Ontario, students will need to find alternative ways to spend their summer break wisely. With the current stay-at-home order in place for Ontario (as of writing this, it is April 14th) going outside is not a safe option for yourself, your family, or your peers. The safest bet is to limit your social interactions until the vaccine is well distributed across the population. Here are some ways you can plan for your upcoming summer to be productive!
Written by Brian Li
Online Summer School
Summer school for secondary school students is an excellent opportunity to earn an extra credit towards their Ontario Secondary School Diploma. Earning an extra credit gives you the opportunity to take another course that you would have liked to take but couldn’t due to your school schedule being too tight. An extra credit also gives you the opportunity to take a spare to lighten up your schedule as well. A spare is a period where you don’t have any classes. During this time, you can prepare for your other classes or relax! Summer school sign-ups should have started for many schools already so be sure to talk to your guidance counselors about summer school and sign up before it’s too late.
Note: For grade 11 students heading into grade 12, if you are planning to take summer school for any course (English, Chemistry, Physics, Advanced Functions, etc.), make sure you do research on post-secondary institutions and their policies on summer school. If you decide to take a summer school course for one of your prerequisite choices, it could affect your final average when applying to post-secondary.
Online Volunteering/STEM Opportunities
There are a plethora of online volunteering/STEM opportunities that you can do over the summer that will help you increase the number of volunteer hours. It never hurts to increase the number of volunteering hours you have and a quick reminder that you are required to do 40 hours in order to receive your Ontario Secondary School Diploma. These volunteer and STEM opportunities can also help you during your post-secondary school applications as many schools will be asking you for your extracurricular experiences. You can find opportunities online through your own research, however, Studentosity has researched a collection of online volunteering/STEM opportunities you can find linked in this article!
Find a New Hobby
Similar to the beginning of the pandemic, many people around the world found new interests to keep them occupied. The upcoming summer will be an excellent opportunity to pick up on a new skill or hobby for you to enjoy! Pick up an instrument you’ve always wanted to learn or start a project that is out of your comfort zone. Coding, drawing, or baking are some recommendations!
We all hope for the pandemic to be over soon, however, until the vaccine is well distributed throughout the population, it will be difficult to go out and spend your summer as you would normally do. In the meantime, plan your summer so that you will have the most efficient and productive summer you can have while in the current situation you’re in now!
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