Acton Schools Frequently Asked Questions

A Boundary Review Committee will be established with composed of

• A non-affected Superintendent and a non-affected Trustee will jointly chair the Boundary Review Committee

• All members of the Steering Committee (for more information see School Boundary Administrative Procedure​)

• P​arent representatives from all affected communities

Principals of affected schools are not on the Committee, but may be called upon to verify information as required.

Once the Board has approved the initiation of a school boundary review, the Superintendent of the affected Family of Schools will establish the Boundary Review Steering Committee and lead the school boundary review process. This committee will consist of:

• Family of Schools Superintendent(s) of all affected areas
• Superintendent from a non-affected area
• General Manager of Planning Services

• Trustee(s) for all of the affected areas, including Trustee who will co-chair the Boundary Review Committee

As necessary, the committee may also include the following supplementary members.

• Superintendent of Program
• Superintendent of Business Services
• Superintendent of Student Services

This review grew out of discussions between Acton administrators (past and present) from the three Acton schools and Scott Podrebarac, Superintendent of Education for the Acton family of schools. Discussion points were a range topics from student academic achievement to student wellness to retention of Acton students in the Acton community. The idea of creating a grade 7-12 facility in Acton grew out of those discussions with the following rationale:

• Fewer transitions for Robert Little PS community.
• Optimize enrolments at Acton District HS; improved course offerings at Acton District HS.
• Aligns K-6 schools to Primary(grades 1-3)/Junior curriculum (grades 4-6).
• Enhanced community supports co-located within McKenzie-Smith Bennett PS (explore EarlyON Centre, Child Care options and other supports).
• Diversity of student success supports and learning options for Intermediate students at Acton District HS.
• Balances enrollments at the two Acton elementary schools (McKenzie-Smith Bennett PS and Robert Little PS)

For the 2020/2021 school year, Robert Little PS would become a JK to Grade 6 English program school and a Grade 2 to Grade 6 French Immersion (FI) school. Therefore, all existing English and FI students currently enrolled in Grade 5 would remain at Robert Little for Grade 6.For the 2021/2022 school year, McKenzie Smith Bennett PS would become a JK to Grade 6 English program school. Acton District HS would for the 2021/2022 school year would be hosting the Grade 7 and 8 English and FI program students, along with all the Grade 9 to 12 students. So Acton DHS would become a Grade 7 to 12 school.

If grade 7 and 8 students move to Acton District HS, transportation policies for these students do not change. These students may still access transportation services if they meet the current minimum distance for elementary students (JK-8) of greater than 1.6 km.

Students attending the Life Skills programs that currently accommodate students in Grades 4 -8 would be given 3 options. They could choose to remain at MSB until the end of their grade 8 year, they could choose to go to Silver Creek in Georgetown for grades 7 and 8, or they could elect to attend the Career Pathways Program at Georgetown High for grades 7 -12. The choice of the right program would be discussed with each child’s needs in mind and in collaboration with parents.

There are two HDSB schools in Burlington that are grade 7 to 12 English and FI schools - Burlington Central and Aldershot District.

As with all Elementary students in grades 1-8 in the HDSB, students will have 6 periods per day and two nutrition breaks.

The timetabling decisions will be made by the administration at the school. All schools with grades 7 and 8 have differing rotary subjects. The rotary subjects vary per school based on staffing, facility and program decisions at the school. For example, a music teacher may also teach language arts to the same students. In the same school, another class could have a different music teacher and a different language arts teacher.

Yes. This is a shared facility with staff supervision during class time and nutrition breaks.

Extra-curricular athletic teams are defined by panel (elementary/secondary) and age of child in secondary school. There are Halton and provincial age requirements which outline extracurricular participation. Each grade level is represented in student leadership (e.g., Student Council, Student Parliament, Student Senate etc.). The student leadership is a school-based decision. Both Aldershot School and Burlington Central Schools have grades 7-12 student leadership. There are also many extracurricular opportunities for grades 7-12.

School dances are run by panel. Elementary dances are held for students in grades 7 and 8. Secondary dances are held for students in grades 9 - 12.