Kindergarten Frequently Asked Questions

The admission process includes a three month admission period. Applications for all Kindergarten programs (including regular English, French Immersion, Montessori and Fine Arts) for the 2012/2013 school year will begin on November 1, 2011. Catchment students applying for registration between November 1, 2011 through January 31, 2012 will be given first consideration over those who apply later. Should there be more applicants than available space in any program, a lottery will be held to determine the order of student placements for the program. This process will replace the previous first come, first served procedure and eliminate the need for families to arrive early on the first day of registration.

Applications for Kindergarten for the 2012/2013 school year will be accepted beginning on November 1, 2011. A family can register their child(ren) for Kindergarten if the student will reach the age of 5 years on or before December 31 of the calendar year. For the 2012/2013 school year the child must be born in 2007. A family may defer the enrollment of their child until the first school day of the next school year. Placement consideration at that time will be made in consultation between the parent and the principal.

A family can register their child(ren) for Kindergarten at their neighbourhood catchment school if the child was born in Canada and if the child speaks English at home.

Parents can acquire this information from their neighbourhood school, by calling the District Reception and Placement Centre or by visiting the Vancouver School Board's School Location Search by Postal Code.

Students born outside Canada must first register with their parent or legal guardian at the District Reception and Placement Centre (DRPC) before they can be accepted into the catchment school. Please see the DRPC website for more specific information about registration procedures.

Various documents and records are needed to ensure your child’s application is complete and, most importantly, to ensure the school has the basic information it needs to maximize the health and security of your child. Documents that are not written in English must be translated by a certified English translator. Parents/guardians are asked to bring the following documents:

1. Completed BCeSIS registration form (available at each school)
2. Proof of residence in Vancouver
   • Home owners - recent property tax statement or purchase agreement, or
   • Tenants - a formal rental or lease agreement or
   • Parent Declaration of Residence form (available at the District Reception and Placement Centre)
3. Child’s birth certificate (ideally showing parents’ names)
4. Immigration documents, Canadian Citizenship documents or Aboriginal status identification for parents and children
5. Immunization records (if available) and other important health information(e.g. medical alerts)
6. Child’s previous report card (if applicable)
7. any other relevant documentation involving guardianship, court orders, etc.

Any missing documents will delay the processing time and completion of application. If you unable to produce any of the above documents, please contact the school principal.

Registration is not on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications for the 2012/13 school year will be accepted during school office hours (9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.) between November 1, 2011 and January 31, 2012. Students submitting applications to their catchment school during this period will receive early consideration over students who apply after January 31, 2012.

Should a school receive more applications for Kindergarten than the available spaces, an in-catchment school draw will be held during the second or third week of February 2012. Catchment students who apply within the early application period will be eligible for the draw. The draw will be supervised by the principal and a parent representative from the school’s Parent Advisory Council.

Parents should receive notification, by mail, of their child’s status before the end of February 2012. The letter should include either an offer of a space in Kindergarten or an indication of the child’s position on the school waitlist. If you have not been contacted, please call the school administrator.

Applications received after January 31 will not be considered until all in-catchment students who submitted an application prior to January 31 have been placed. Late applicants, including siblings of students already enrolled in the school, will be added in time-dated order to the end of the school’s in-catchment waitlist.

Where a family has twins, only one ballot will be entered into the draw. If drawn, both children will be offered places in the program.

Families will have until Wednesday, February 29, 2012 at 3:00 p.m. to confirm their acceptance of the space in Kindergarten. After that time, unclaimed spaces, or those that later become available, will be offered to those on the waitlist.

Students not selected from the draw will be added to a waitlist to be maintained by the school. Should space come available through the year the student that is next on the waitlist will be contacted and given an opportunity to return to the catchment school. The students will in the interim be placed at a neighbouring school that has the available space, resources and staffing to accommodate the student.

Parents may apply cross-boundary to another school, but these applications will only be considered after all in-catchment applicants have been placed.

Vancouver schools will begin accepting cross-boundary applications from February 15 to March 1, 2012. Families who submit a cross-boundary application during this time will be informed of their child’s status by March 30, 2012.

Families should visit their neighbourhood school and pick up a cross boundary application form. On the form families are asked to indicate other schools to which they have submitted a cross boundary form.

If the requisite space and facilities are determined to be available, cross boundary applications will be accepted in the following priority:

• Students enrolled as residents during the current school year or accepted on a cross boundary application during the previous year;

• Siblings(when other siblings are attending the school concurrently); Students enrolled in on-site childcare programs, or whose childcare needs are provided within the attendance area;

• Students whose residence falls within the attendance areas of other Vancouver schools;

• Students whose residence falls outside the Vancouver School District

• Applications will be time and date stamped upon receipt at the school.

Families may only accept one cross boundary offer. Once a family agrees to accept an offer, their application for cross boundary at other schools will be nullified.

Waitlists will be established for cross boundary students not accepted, to be maintained until September 30.

Families can submit a cross boundary application after March 1; however, schools do not have an obligation to formally inform parents of their status. Cross-boundary applications submitted after March 1, 2012 will be processed on a first-come basis, accounting for space, program and staffing availability.

Unlike siblings of in-catchment students who will be concurrently attending the same school, siblings of cross boundary students do not have priority consideration for acceptance. Cross-boundary applications for a school other than their neighbourhood school will be accepted from February 15, 2012 through March 1, 2012.

The space will be offered to students in the following priority order:

• in draw order to students on the in-catchment waitlist who registered within the early registration period (November 1, 2011 - January 31, 2012)
• catchment students who registered after January 31, 2012 but have an older sibling who will be concurrently attending the school
• in time dated order to those in-catchment students who were added to the waitlist after January 31, 2012 cross boundary students

All families who submit a Kindergarten application prior to January 31, 2012 will be given notification of the school their child will be attending by March 30, 2012. This includes waitlisted students who were unable to secure a spot during the lottery process.

Sibling consideration for priority acceptance will apply if all of the following conditions apply:

• the applicant, sibling(s) and parent/guardian reside within the school’s catchment boundary
• the applicant’s sibling is currently enrolled at the school and will continue to attend the same school during the next school year,
  Please note that for the Montessori program only, given the large size of the catchment area, a sibling of a new registrant will also be given priority consideration. This sibling will be offered the next available spot that opens up at his/her grade level; and
• the applicant submitted an application for Kindergarten prior to the early registration deadline of January 31, 2012.