The BGC of Lacombe is helping students with the new tutoring, Learn On program.  

Through the program, Grade 6 to 12 students can connect with tutors and receive homework help.  

Beth Reitz, Ponoka Youth Centre Executive Director explained that Learn On is designed to give students the tools they need to complete their schooling.  

“Primarily it's a lot of math and science, but we do get social and language arts," she said.  

Reitz heard from Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) that local parents were inquiring about tutoring options in the community, and after starting BGC programming in Lacombe, believed the program was a natural fit.  

“So far, it's been going really well. We've had anywhere from four or five students a day, all the way up to 11,” Reitz said.  

Volunteer tutors like Suzanne McCormick are now getting to know the students attending the Lacombe program, and the learning style of each student. 

“We're learning how to serve the kids that are coming in and they're learning how to use us,” McCormick said. “In a way, we’re growing together here.”  

McCormick has gotten positive feedback from students after they understand the subject material they struggled with before.  

“It's encouraging to see kids embracing something that they think is hard and they're seeing, usually that it's not as hard as they think,” she said. “I'm really excited when suddenly they understand something that they thought was impossible."  

Grade 10 student Treyden Bosma said the program has been extremely helpful.  

“The tutors give a lot of instructions, and they’re always willing to help. They don't judge you if you don’t understand, they'll just find a new way that fits your learning type,” Bosma said. “If you don’t understand in a way that everyone does, they'll come up with a new way for you to understand it.”  

Learn On runs Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Lacombe Memorial Centre. 

 

Related Stories