Registration in Northern Lights Public Schools early learning programs is now open for the 2021-2022 school year!

“This is an exciting time of year for our elementary schools as they connect with students who are just beginning their learning journeys in preschool and kindergarten,” said Board Chair Arlene Hrynyk. “Our schools have some fun things planned to welcome new students to their schools and get them excited about learning.”

Due to COVID-19, NLPS elementary schools have had to make changes to the early learning open houses that have been traditionally held every spring. Over the next few months, they will be offering parents and guardians a variety of ways to interact with their schools and learn more about their early learning programs. This may include virtual tours, online question and answer sessions, videos posted on social media, as well as opportunities to connect one-on-one through phone calls and possibly in person, depending on COVID restrictions. To find out what’s happening at the NLPS elementary school in your community, check out their website or follow them on Facebook. 

On Friday, June 4, NLPS elementary schools will host events at their schools to showcase their early learning programs and welcome new students to their schools. These events will be by appointment only and will follow the restrictions on indoor and outdoor gatherings that are in place at the time. Event details and information on how to book appointments will be shared by individual schools as they finalize their plans. This will be a no school day for current Kindergarten students. 

Northern Lights offers several early learning programs for children aged 2 years and 8 months to 6 years old:

• NLPS can access Program Unit Funding (PUF) for children as young as 2 years and 8 months who are identified as having delays or disabilities. This can be used to provide services such as speech-language and occupational therapy. Parents/guardians who think their child may benefit should contact their local school for information about eligibility and what services may be provided.
  
  
• Care to Learn Preschool is a provincially-licensed preschool program operating in nine NLPS elementary schools. A variety of three-hour programs are offered at the nine locations, as well as full-day preschool programs at Duclos School in Bonnyville and Ecole Plamondon Schools.
  
  
• All Northern Lights elementary schools offer a full-day Kindergarten program five days a week. We enhance the provincially-mandated half-day Kindergarten curriculum with an Extension program based on Flight: Alberta’s Early Learning and Care Curriculum Framework. The Kindergarten curriculum is taught by a certified teacher and follows Alberta Education’s Program of Studies. The Extension program is provided by our Extension Educational Assistants (EA’s).

How do I register?

NLPS offers online registration in its preschool and kindergarten programs to make the process as convenient as possible for parents and guardians. Full instructions are provided on the Preschool Registration and Kindergarten Registration pages on our website. Our school staff are available to assist with the registration process and answer any questions that parents have.

• Existing Care to Learn Preschool Students
  Parents of our current preschool students will receive an email informing them that the 2021-2022 Preschool and Kindergarten Re-Enrolment Form has been assigned to them in School Engage. They will be able to login to the PowerSchool Parent Portal to re-enroll their child in preschool or register them in Kindergarten. The form will be shared with them on March 8.
  
  
• New Preschool Students
  Registration will open for new preschool students on March 22, 2021. 
  • Families who are new to Northern Lights (no other children currently enrolled in our schools), can register by filling out the 2020-2021 Preschool Registration form in School Engage.
  • Families with other children already enrolled in a Northern Lights school, can register their new preschool student by logging into their PowerSchool Parent Portal account and clicking on School Engage in the bottom left hand corner of the screen to access the 2021-2022 Preschool Registration form.
    
    
• New Kindergarten Students
  • Families who are new to Northern Lights (no other children currently enrolled in our schools), can register by filling out the 2021-2022 K-12 Registration Form in School Engage starting March 8. This form can also be used to register new students in grades 1-12.
  • Families with other children currently enrolled in a Northern Lights school, can register their new kindergarten student by logging into their PowerSchool Parent Portal account and clicking on School Engage in the bottom left hand corner of the screen to access the 2021-2022 K-12 Registration Form.

Preschool or Kindergarten?

• Not sure if you should register your child for preschool or if they are eligible to attend Kindergarten instead?
• The age of entry for Kindergarten is 5 years of age by December 31 of the school year you are enrolling in. So to start Kindergarten in September 2021, students will need to be 5 years of age by December 31, 2021.
• To confirm when your child will be eligible for Kindergarten, please check out our Kindergarten eligibility calculator on our Kindergarten Registration page.