This is a long review running through my honest experience.
Great musicals every year. Every kid is believed to have talent and potential. Basically amyone who wants to be in the show can be. They teach you acting, singing, dancing, and other stage stuff. Exceptional sets and props are put together for each annual show. Each show spectacular and well run.
Excellent athletic opportunities. They have x-country, football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, basketball, floor hockey, track and field and 3 pitch. You can literally be on all the teams. You also don't have to be good at the sport.. they'll show you the ropes and all and give you the opportunity to become good or improve. The sports were the best part of my experience.
Good people exist at this school. class sizes are a bit small compared to public, but it can be good and bad depending on your perspective. You'll make friends! :)
Qualified, respectful, compassionate, honest, trustworthy and intelligent teachers are hired here. They believe in you and believe that you can achieve a lot in your future. The school tries to offer a safe and fun learning environment for all!
The curriculum is rigorous and thorough but they offer a lot of help if you need it. You just need to ask and they'll arrange something! They have a STEAM program now which is pretty awesome. It'll prepare you for life now a days. You learn a lot of useful skills that will prepare you for high school and other strands of life. In the upper grades the science, English and math programs are particularly strong. Science you do disections, cool experiments and other jazzy stuff. English you do speeches, grammar, essays, writing pieces, cursive, spelling etc. In math, you will become very prepared for high school. Basically you don't need to worry about the academics at this school being lousy.
They have a wide range of extra-curricular activities for students. They have band and choir. They also do a lot of community and charity type things. A lot of MetoWe stuff which is a fun and fulfilling experience. They do a lot of environmental stuff as well. They have greenhouse to emphasize the importance of green life. Additionally there's an outdoor classroom that's pretty sweet...it gets you outside and appreciating nature. They have some pretty unique stuff I tell ya!
They have a good afterschool care program with nice supervisors. They used to serve snacks... but that ended. :(
They have a lot of new technology to help every student with their studies- laptops (chromebooks), ipads, smart boards, smart tables etc.
They have amazing overnight trips in the higher grades. I went to Ottawa in grade 5 for band, A leadership weekend and Wildfire camp in grade 6, Fort George and Quebec in grade 7 and New Brunswick in grade 8. Like when is it that schools take you to all these cool places...pretty much never...except for here. The trips are so unique, great socially and are fun. You learn about Canada and the people around you so well. A lot of other private schools offer excessively expensive international trips and make it seem so much better then trips located in Canada. Canada has so much to offer and many kids these days don't realize that...they go to the Carribean, the Bahamas and Cuba. Yes, I will agree 100% those places are extraordinary. Unfortunately we sometimes forget just how truly amazing our own country is. Through these trips and experiences you get that and get to learn about our culture and history.
They also offer a ton of leadership opportunities for all the students. From colour team captains to reading buddies, academic amigos, team captains, open house representative, stage manager, dance captains, the student government, lunch helpers and student coaching... there is literally an opportunty for every student and...if not you can make another one!
Every child can benefit from this school. It is worth the money! The school offers and encourages a balanced school life through its academic support and extra curriculars.