Welcome Back!

Welcome back everyone!  Another school year has started and Swan River Adult Education is eager and excited about meeting new learners and together finding new success.  We are a continual intake program so we welcome new learners anytime during the year.

Message from the Director:

As summer draws to a close, children all over the Valley are busy making back to school preparations, filled with the excitement of reuniting with old friends and making new acquaintances, as well as the anticipation of new challenges and experiences.

The exhilaration of starting a new school year, however, need not be limited to the young. Parents, grandparents, and other adults living in Swan Valley have a variety of educational opportunities available right in their own community. One example of an excellent educational opportunity for learners, 19 years and older, is Swan River Adult Education – possibly one of the Valley’s best kept secrets.

Swan River Adult Education (SRAE) is a non-profit, registered adult learning centre and literacy program which is funded through provincial grants and administered by a local volunteer board of directors. The centre operates out of two locations – 128 Fifth Avenue North and the Elbert Chartrand Friendship Centre.

Several factors make SRAE a unique, attainable, and enjoyable educational experience. All courses are completely tuition-free, with a nominal $25 annual registration fee, and all textbooks and resources are supplied at no cost to the learner.

SRAE operates on a continual-enrollment basis which means that, while the centre follows the same calendar as the public school system, an adult learner is able to register and begin a course at any time throughout the school year.

This concept of continual enrollment addresses the need for flexibility that most adults, who attempt to balance school with busy home-lives, child-care and employment, face. Each SRAE learner works independently and at their own pace so there is no standard daily attendance requirement. As long as the learner maintains their educational plan and demonstrates sufficient continuous progress, SRAE instructors will adapt to meet the learner’s needs and time constraints.

Individualized, custom-made educational plans provide SRAE learners a wide variety of program opportunities. The following scenarios highlight just a few examples of the many options available:

• Many adult learners enroll at SRAE with the goal of attaining a high school diploma. SRAE is a registered Manitoba Adult Learning Centre which offers the Mature Student High School Diploma.

The eight credit Mature Student High School Diploma is equivalent to a regular 30 credit high school diploma. All of SRAE instructors are Manitoba-certified teachers, and all credit courses comply with Manitoba’s Department of Education curricula.

SRAE celebrates its learners’ achievements with an annual graduation ceremony.

• In order to meet specific college or university entrance requirements, a graduate with a previously earned Grade 12 diploma from a regular high school or adult learning centre may enroll at SRAE for additional credits.

For example, a high school graduate planning to enroll in one of the post-secondary courses offered locally through University College of the North or Assiniboine Community College may wish to first complete a Grade 12 English Language Arts, Mathematics, Biology, or Physics course at SRAE.

Any learner who has previously achieved a high school diploma may attain, at no cost, up to four additional high school credits at Swan River Adult Education.

• An adult with a specific goal of employment may opt to enroll at SRAE to take a Grade 9-12 career development course.

Besides gaining high school credits, with these types of courses, adult learners will be introduced to today’s world of work and will enhance specific skills such as resume writing and job seeking.

• A parent, with or without a high school diploma, may choose to take a Grade 9-12 credit course such as Mathematics or English Language Arts at SRAE in order to gain more confidence in helping with their child’s homework.

Most adult learners relay that they feel a boost of self confidence and a greater sense of self-esteem when they become educational role models for their school aged children.

• A learner may enroll at SRAE to upgrade basic skills in math, reading, or writing in order to boost their self-esteem and self -confidence in everyday life.

As well as being registered to provide high school credit courses, SRAE operates as a certified adult literacy program, offering non-credit pre-Grade 9 upgrading in many areas.

Any adult with the motivation and willingness to learn may register for upgrading courses. Many learners move into the high school credit program upon successful completion of upgrading.

Regardless of their initial reason for enrolling, most learners who attend SRAE come away with a great deal more than improved basic skills, course credits, or a high school diploma.

What is gained is a renewed understanding of self, much greater self-confidence and self-worth, a sense of belonging and purpose, and motivation to continue learning throughout life.

Perhaps most importantly, SRAE learners gain many new acquaintances and life-long friends with whom they share ambitions and dreams of a brighter future. What better motivation could there be for adults to enroll in adult education classes than a chance to share with their children the feelings of exhilaration and anticipation prompted by the start of a brand-new school year.

Hope to see you at school!