P.E.I. Public Schools Branch reminding parents of kindergarten registration despite COVID-19
'With schools being closed it makes it difficult for them to get their registration done'
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch (PSB) is reminding parents that they still have to register their children for kindergarten despite the COVID-19 pandemic that has closed schools and much of the province.
Kindergarten registration is for children who will be five by Dec. 31 of this year. PSB director of student services Terri MacAdam says the branch knows there are some outstanding registrations.
"We take our projected numbers and our numbers from Health PEI and we compare them to the numbers that are registered," she said. "With schools being closed it makes it difficult for them to get their registration done."
Island schools have been closed since March 15 and will remain closed until May 11 at the earliest.
MacAdam said they believe there are more than 100 children who have not been registered.
"We need those numbers for staffing so that we know how many children are going to be in each building ... especially in kindergarten because there are class limits," MacAdam said, adding that the ratio is 18 students to one teacher in kindergarten.
She said it's important that the information is received in order to plan for the upcoming year.
"For the children too, because if school reopens before the end of the year there'd be upcoming events," MacAdam said.
"If it doesn't, there's still Welcome to Kindergarten packages that we'd like to get out to families so it's really important that we have that information."
Parents can either email [email protected] or call 902-368-4638 to begin the registration process for their children.
The information will be forwarded on to their school, and parents will have to show their child's proof of age and address when schools reopen.
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With files from Angela Walker