Add another exciting development to St. Mary's Catholic School in Cranbrook. On Wednesday it was announced that the school would be offering all-day Kindergarten, starting in September of 2010.

The algebra of government funding until recently funded 50 per cent of Kindergarten spaces in the province. Last year, the government announced it would be giving 100 per cent funding to 50 per cent of Kindergarten spots in B.C. St. Mary's Principal Jerelynn MacNeil said their school was one of those so allotted the funding.

"As of January, we have 19 kids signed up for Kindergarten, so we're almost full already," MacNeil said.

The all-day K announcement follows upon the recent establishment of an on-site after school program, available to all members of the community, and a new computer lab. As well, MacNeil says the school is working to implement a pre-school program that will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

"We're trying to put in place - and we have - programs that meet the needs of the community beyond the K to 12 education."

"We're really excited about the direction we're going in."

St. Mary's Kindergarten teacher Linda Miller is excited about what the new program will mean for students. "Kindergarten is such an important year. If the child has a positive, supportive early learning experience then the learner is much more resilient and positive toward school in later years."

The school said in a press release this week that studies show that early intervention that provides children with quality literacy experiences helps to decrease struggles students may face in their academic future. Full-day Kindergarten would provide children with more opportunities to work on learning their letters and numbers as well as their social skills. Learned skills such as learning to play cooperatively, sharing, listening to others, making appropriate behavioral choices, and learning to make friends are all a big part of going to school.

MacNeil stressed that St. Mary's Catholic School is open to all, including those not of the Roman Catholic Faith.

As for all-day Kindergarten for the public school system, School District 5 is expected to make the decision next week of which of its 11 elementary schools will be offering all-day K.

School District 5 received a funding commitment from Victoria which would cover 200 Kindergarten spots for 200 Kindergarten students, or about 60 per cent of an expected 325 or so enrolled.