Burnaby’s Settlement Workers in Schools are offering several programs to refugee students and their families who recently arrived in Burnaby.
Families are actively learning English in conversation circles at the Lochdale Community School and Edmonds Community School through gardening and cooking and baking together. Being engaged in those familiar activities is helpful in creating a new vocabulary, and what is even more important – making new friends and getting to know their communities better.
Students are receiving support through multiple programs at Burnaby South Secondary, Burnaby North Secondary and Byrne-Creek Community schools. Academic tutoring by peers and volunteers in those schools is an important part of rehabilitation programs designed to support settlement and integration of those students, often with a multi-year educational gap. This facilitates their re-introduction to a public school system, learning about life in Canada, and feeling embraced and supported in their schools and communities.