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Thank you very much for the direction weltschmerz, almost missed on this one. we will be submitting the forms tomorrow, they have entrance exam on 18th and 25th.
Thanks again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by weltschmerz
Have you thought of a semi-private school, like Royal Vale? It's a very good school and won't cost you an arm and a leg. École Royal Vale School
Ah Villa Maria , We also got the suggestion for this school. This school has entrance exam on 18th this week. The problem is we got caught unprepared for this and there is hardly any time for preperation. I read somewhere that sudden bombardment of entrance exams make kids very stressful.
Thanks for the reply on the transportation. I would like if my daughter could take the public transport. my worry is she is quite young(11.5 at summer next year) and do not really have used public transport. Moreover further the school more time consuming it will be. for e.g It will take 1 hr plus for her to reach Beurling from my place and need to do 2 transfers .
Other day I saw school taxi/minivan kind of vehicle dropping kids, on the top it said Ecole and Transdev with blue color star sign on the back.
Honestly, I just bought a book the other week, at Bureau en Gros, which is called Reussir au Examen au Secondaire (don't even know if it exists in English). We spent time on it here and there. I am not at all sure if that is good enough or terribly not enough. That has been ALL our preparation. To add, my daughter didn't have any normal school subjects at all last year, having it spent just learning French. Soooo.... It's clear as mud. Well, she does all the math manipulations, but we don't know if it will be enough. The Villa Maria gave us booklets which state that no special preparation is necessary. Understandably, this whole exam preparation is a money-making business, too.
Mine will turn 12 in May, so she won't be significantly older, neither. But at least both Beurling and Westmount (and Villa Maria) are 30 min away from us, with a bus-metro change. The Nun's Island is a bit more pain in the neck.
I don't understand the dismal rankings, neither. After having experienced the open doors phenomena, I will be relying more on my gut feeling. Those highly placed on the ranking just didn't fit us at times to the point of skin crawl. Thanks for info on Westmount High, we'll go visit there, too.
Thank you very much for the direction weltschmerz, almost missed on this one. we will be submitting the forms tomorrow, they have entrance exam on 18th and 25th.
Thanks again.
Royal Vale is 45 min away from us, that is becoming a bit excessive, in my opinion. It must be more than 1 hr away from you. The school is good, but the distance concerns me. I think further on, in Secondary 2 or 3, my daughter might be stronger to make her own choice.
/with private transportation that may be less of a problem.
Anybody has opinion on Westmount High? They seem to have a lot of male teachers. Is that good, bad or the ugly?
I asked my wife about Westmount High, she said she doesnt have any hands on experience but says its an urban core school where many of the students are there because they couldnt get into the better schools, she couldnt say whether that equates it to an inferior school,she just doesnt know..
To add, my daughter didn't have any normal school subjects at all last year, having it spent just learning French. Soooo.... It's clear as mud. Well, she does all the math manipulations, but we don't know if it will be enough. .
You've said this before but I don't understand how one can go to a public and only be taught French and no other subjects in grades what, five and six?
Honestly, I just bought a book the other week, at Bureau en Gros, which is called Reussir au Examen au Secondaire (don't even know if it exists in English). We spent time on it here and there. I am not at all sure if that is good enough or terribly not enough. That has been ALL our preparation. To add, my daughter didn't have any normal school subjects at all last year, having it spent just learning French. Soooo.... It's clear as mud. Well, she does all the math manipulations, but we don't know if it will be enough. The Villa Maria gave us booklets which state that no special preparation is necessary. Understandably, this whole exam preparation is a money-making business, too.
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Yes it is. I know the booklets. There is also a company called SOS Études that does prep courses to get ready for the high school admissions exams.
You've said this before but I don't understand how one can go to a public and only be taught French and no other subjects in grades what, five and six?
AJ, they were in the accueil class - together with other newcomers to Canada. When I have a moment, I will find and post the comission scolaire explanation of this transitional class. The emphasis there is on the language: the students are from Albany, China, and other 150 countries. Of course the main order of the day is to teach them French, how can one talk about geography without the language?
Yes, they sit in the transitional class at any grade they have arrived in Canada. For some, it takes 2 or 3 years - and yes, no regular subjects all this time. They do have a bit of math, but since the ages are mixed in this class, the teacher takes the easier route: gives easier tasks. His main goal is to get these kids to speak French and send them off to a regular class.
AJ, they were in the accueil class - together with other newcomers to Canada. When I have a moment, I will find and post the comission scolaire explanation of this transitional class. The emphasis there is on the language: the students are from Albany, China, and other 150 countries. Of course the main order of the day is to teach them French, how can one talk about geography without the language?
Yes, they sit in the transitional class at any grade they have arrived in Canada. For some, it takes 2 or 3 years - and yes, no regular subjects all this time. They do have a bit of math, but since the ages are mixed in this class, the teacher takes the easier route: gives easier tasks. His main goal is to get these kids to speak French and send them off to a regular class.
Did you have any serious issues about your child being in such a class? Or was it a question for you of biting the bullet for a short time to get their French up to snuff?
We have a classe d'accueil type of thing at my kids' school but it only appears to be for part of the day a few times a week. They aren't in there full time.
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Is that good, bad or the ugly?
