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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday February 7, 2007 - 19 EDUCATION IN OAKVILLE Balancing school and your life as an adult For adults heading back to school for the first time in several years, anxiety can be overwhelming. Not knowing what to expect, where to go or whether you'll be able to balance everything can certainly fill your stomach with nervous butterflies. But as daunting a task as reentering the world of academia can seem, there must be a reason you've decided to do just that. Much of that willingness likely rests in your desire to pursue other avenues in life and the self-confidence that you can succeed in such a pursuit. HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL HINTS TO ADULTS LOOKING TO MAKE THE MOST OF THEIR RETURN TO SCHOOL. · Value your own experience. Chances are you've learned quite a bit since the last time you were in a classroom. Regardless of what you've been doing since then, your life experiences should be valued. Skills such as problem solving or learning to communicate with others more effectively can be very useful in a classroom. Oftentimes, younger students have yet to develop such skills, which can be quite useful in the classroom and beyond. Don't belittle past experiences or minimize their usefulness, as life experience can be a great asset to any student, young or old. · Start strong. Much as middle or high school students can develop strong study habits that will pay dividends once they get to college, adults returning to school can do themselves a great service by establishing strong study habits from day one. Since adults returning to school typically must balance busy and hectic schedules in addition to schoolwork, establishing a study schedule early on and letting your family know you're off limits during certain times will make such a balance easier to maintain. · Use what's made available to you. The number of adults returning to school has greatly increased over the years, prompting many institutions to offer services designed specifically for adult learners. Such services might include child care, support groups and even career counseling, among other things. These are valuable resources that are designed to help make the difficult task that lies ahead of you easier to deal with. Take advantage of them. · Recognize the role of technology. Even in just the last decade, technology has grown increasingly prevalent in classrooms across the country. Nearly every class relies heavily on technology these days, so recognizing that and familiarizing yourself with it is essential to performing at your best. Professors regularly e-mail assignments, use the Internet in class and require you to download class materials from their personal Web sites. This is one area where adults, specifically, face a major disadvantage compared to their younger classmates. While adults' life experience is advantageous to them, younger students grew up with many of today's technologies and are more techsavvy. Though professors may give you some leeway while you adapt to the technology, they, too, are as busy as you, and may not have the time to walk you through all the things you'll need to learn. The more quickly you establish a comfort level with technology, the more you're likely to succeed inschool. · Learn to say, "No." Your schedule is already packed; therefore, taking on more responsibility, be it at work or at home, should not even be considered. Let your family, especially children if you have them, know how important school is to you, and that you'll need them to help out a little more to make your admirable efforts a little easier to handle. Also, once your midterms or finals have come and gone and you have some welldeserved downtime, don't fill those hours with extra responsibilities. Take that time to rest and recharge, as you'll likely need it. If asked to take on more tasks at work or around the house, judge how important such tasks are to you or someone you care about. If they fail to register as extremely important, let the person know of your current situation and how much more difficult your life will get if you start adding more responsibilities. Oakville Independent Schools Open House Saturday, February 10 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Find the right school for your child Oakville is home to an impressive selection of independent preschools, elementary schools and high schools. Each school is committed to providing students with a unique and high quality education with a strong academic foundation, small class sizes and personal attention. Visit the schools and discover what each has to offer. Find out which one is right for your child. Chisholm Educational Centre We help kids overcome learning difficulties Appleby College Grade 7 - 12 540 Lakeshore Rd. W. (905) 845-4681 fax: (905) 845-9505 www.appleby.on.ca e-mail: enrol@appleby.on.ca Chisholm High School Grade 9 to 12 1484 Cornwall Rd. (905) 844-3240 fax: (905) 844-7321 www.chisholmcentre.com e-mail: info@chisholmcentre.com Dearcroft Montessori Preschool - Grade 8 1167 Lakeshore Rd. E. (905) 844-2114 fax: (905) 844-3529 www.dearcroft.com email: dearcroft@primus.ca Fern Hill School Preschool - Grade 8 Oakville Campus 3300 Ninth Line Rd. (905) 257-0022 www.fernhillschool.com Burlington Campus 801 North Service Road Glenburnie School Preschool - Grade 8 2035 Upper Middle Rd. E. (905) 338-6236 fax: (905) 338-2654 www.glenburnieschool.com e-mail: admin@glenburnieschool.com King's Christian Collegiate Grade 9 to 12 528 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W. (905) 257-5464 www.kingschristian.net e-mail: sroebbelen@kingschristian.net also MacLachlan College JK - Grade 12 337 Trafalgar Rd. (905) 844-0372 fax: (905) 844-9369 www.maclachlan.ca e-mail: registrar@maclachlan.on.ca Oakville Christian School JK - Grade 8 112 Third Line (905) 825-1247 ext. 221 fax: (905) 825-3398 www.ocsonline.org e-mail: ocsadmissions@ocsonline.org Primary Campus JK - Grade 1 2045 Sixth Line (905) 338-3528 Elementary Campus Grade 1 to Grade 8 2050 Neyagawa Blvd. (905) 849-1897 www.rotherglen.com St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School JK - Grade 12 1080 Linbrook Rd. (905) 845-2386 fax: (905) 845-4799 www.smls.on.ca e-mail: admissions@smls.on.ca Westwind Montessori Grade 4 to 8 451 Lakeshore Rd. W. (905) 849-9463 fax: (905) 849-9051 www.westwindms.com e-mail: gphippen@westwindms.com See our new Sept. '07 location Dearcroft Montessori Wildwood Academy Grade 3 to 8 2250 Sheridan Garden Dr. (905) 829-4226 fax: (905) 829-2318 www.wildwoodacademy.com e-mail: admin@wildwoodacademy.com Please call to arrange an interview.