Summer is the perfect time to go back to school and conquer the world.
Just days after the official end of the 2017-2018 school season, thousands of St. Albert-area youths headed back to class this week for the start of summer school.
Rosalie Oliver of Edmonton was one of them. She was suiting up for her role as a killer space cyborg Wednesday as part of a new film-directing course offered through the St. Albert Super Cool Summer School program (a joint initiative of the St. Albert Public and Catholic boards).
“It’s about a cyborg who goes to Earth to steal all the natural resources,” said the aspiring actress, as her partner wrapped her in aluminum-foil battle armour.
“Her planet is dying, and she wants to be the hero.”
A record 400-some Grade 1 to 8 students have enrolled in the Super Cool program at Richard S. Fowler Catholic this year, said principal Sherry Gagne, who attributed the turnout to the new soccer and film-directing courses.
“It’s been fantastic.”
The week-long all-day program gives youth a chance to practice academics and sports and learn new skills by cooking treats and carving long-boards.
The film course has students learn the basics of storyboarding, set design, filming, and editing using GoPro cameras and computers, said instructor Ashton Kinley. Students collaborate to produce a short film that they’ll get to watch by the end of the week.
“In my childhood, I would have loved to have a program like this,” he said.
Many students come to the course already fluent with smartphones and programs such as iMovie, so they’re able to pick up the technology quickly, Kinley said. Most end up producing sci-fi/action films.
Oliver said she and her classmates planned to film two endings for their movie: one where the cyborg conquers the world and one where the cops defeat her. She planned to attend several other acting courses later this summer, and encouraged others to give the Super Cool School a shot.
“It’s not just school. It’s really fun.”
The Super Cool School runs all next week. Kids can register by calling 780-221-8598.
High school summer
About a block away at Paul Kane, Grade 12 grads Seraphina Wong and Derek Wilkins were practising perms on mannequins during their summer school Cosmetology class. The two have been taking cosmetology courses at the school for most of the last two years, including last summer, and are back for some fun and bonus credits.“There’s a hundred different modules you can do, and we’ve only done about 30 or so,” said Wilkins, who planned to get into Edmonton’s MC College and become a barber.
About 700 students are enrolled at the Paul Kane summer school this year, which is probably a record, said principal Randy Kozak. About 200 of those were doing work experience or distance learning, and around 250 were Grade 9 students taking CALM or phys-ed.
Unlike the Super Cool School, high-school summer courses are typically for-credit affairs and often feature diploma exams. Students do four or eight hours of work a day to zip through an entire term’s worth of material in one to four weeks.
“There’s quizzes just about every day,” Kozak said, and about two hours of homework a day.
“If you miss a day of school, it’s like missing a week.”
While the main focus is on core subjects such as Math or Chemistry, the school sometimes runs optional classes such as Cosmetology, which is back for a second year, Kozak said. AP or French Immersion students often use summer school for options they can’t fit into their regular timetable.
The all-day format gives students opportunities they don’t get in a regular one-hour class, such as field trips to Whyte Avenue salons and the ability to do advanced projects such as chemical treatments, said cosmetology teacher Elizabeth Wood. Classes are smaller too, which gives teachers more one-on-one time with students.
Wong said she planned to get into nursing, but enjoyed learning cosmetology as a hobby. The course filled the time before her part-time job at night, and allowed for a lot of freedom, as it was self-directed.
“And you’re allowed to take dance breaks,” she added, as Wilkins strutted to Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” on the radio.
Call 780-459-4405 for more on the Paul Kane summer school.
