Moving to Canada probably in July 2011, basically for good quality education for my son (13 years) which I have heard a lot about.
I am willing to enroll him for 9th grade in one of the good high schools in Ontario (most probably Mississauga).
Which school board is the best one offering high quality of curriculum?
Can someone please suggest a few schools with good academics? Is July late for enrolling? How about bullying in high schools? Is it very intense and common?
Eager to have some opinions on the above issues...
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posted on: 08-12-10 10:45:35
Quote:
Originally posted by happymind
Moving to Canada probably in July 2011, basically for good quality education for my son (13 years) which I have heard a lot about.
I am willing to enroll him for 9th grade in one of the good high schools in Ontario (most probably Mississauga).
Which school board is the best one offering high quality of curriculum?
Can someone please suggest a few schools with good academics? Is July late for enrolling? How about bullying in high schools? Is it very intense and common?
Eager to have some opinions on the above issues...
Good quality education is a relative term. Eternally "unhappy about Canada" members of this forum will always say negative about Canadian primary education, not to mention everything else in their lives. So, it will be up to you to discover quite a few things yourself.
Having said that, the grade your son would enter would be defined by the age criteria set by ON school boards. School academic year begins first week of Sep and ends in June. Registration (enrolment) begins in Feb (i.e about 6 to 7 months prior to school start). However, I am sure, they will accommodate (will have to in public schools) late registrants as they do understand logistics of new comers.
All of ON offer the same curriculum for public schools. However, quality of teachers/teaching might vary depending on the school district. I am not sure how much disparity there is in ON among school districts, but there is likely to be some. So, Mississauga residents can throw some light on this for you.
Bullying may not be as much as it is hyped up in movies, nevertheless, you should watch for signs. For example, my 4 year old son comes home with scratches and bruises and he refuses to talk about it. We delicately engage him to reveal what happened. I don't care if he fell and hurt himself at play or had a little more than simple disagreement with his closest friend, but I would raise a stink if that came from another kid for no apparent reason. In any case, you need not get worked up over it as kids will be kids.
For your son, considering his age, it will be a monumental change in school. One of my niece who came at age 13 struggled quite a bit before she got used to the schools. So, gentle, parental support and encouragement would go a long way, especially for the adolescents such as your son.
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Dimple2001
dimple2001 has made some great points.
I don't believe the curriculum shifts much from board to board within Ontario as they all have to adhere to the Ontario board curriculum
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teachers/curriculum.html
Secondly the only choice of board is either the Catholic School board (eligible only if your child is catholic in most places- some exceptions apply- not sure about high school) or the Peel District School board (since you are considering Mississauga) or a private school (which is very very expensive). The Peel District school board is generally of a good standard, there are variations in the schools' performance. You can judge the school performance from this link:
http://www.eqao.com/categories/home.aspx?Lang=E
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Immigrant Parents in Canada http://groups.yahoo.com/group/immigrantparentsincanada
Thanks Dimple2001 and fass2008...
Now the time to land in Canada is nearing and i m growing more anxious abt the high schools!
Can anyone residing in Toronto or Mississauga shed some more light on the level of studies in Peel Board or TDSB schools? Are they at par with the Indian High schools or lower than them or higher than them? Which is the best school? How about Glenforest Secondary School or Lorne Park Secondary School? I think the admissions at Glenforest for 9th Grade are already full for 2011-12. Do they admit mid-semister students? Do they have age criteria?
I have taken admission for 9th Grade in one of the reputed schools in Mumbai as a fall back option and don't want to settle for something lower in Canada.
Your honest viewpoints are awaited...
Thanks in advance...
Two things to remeber about education system in Canada .... especially the PEEL region where you are looking for admission
1) You child will be admitted to the school based on the location of your residence. So if you live in the school boundary of Glen Forest you can ONLY go to that school. To find out the residentail areas in the school boundary you can check the peel website here http://www.peelschools.org/schools/family.htm
2) Admission to schools is based on age .... so if your child was born in 1998 he will be going to grade 8 this coming year. As an immigrant you dont have to worry about school admission, it is the responsibilty of the school board to get them accomodated in the school. I know that now they do an evaluation of the student before they admit them to school. But for a student coming from India, especially from metros it should be a cakewalk.
3) Schools in Canada get rated by Fraser Institute and the publish this report ebery year. I am providing a link to the map, just type the location like mississauga and it will tell you how the secondary schools have been rated.
http://ontario.compareschoolrankings.org/secondary/SchoolsByAreaMap.aspx
Even though your child will be going to middle school you can try to get into any area that is connected to that particular secondary school.
This information is specific for Peel region school board. This covers basically Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon. Admission to Catholic schools in PEEL region is open for all students in secondary schools irrespective of religion though there are some conditions.
