this school has some truly amazing staff and opportunities. my issues come with the administration…read moreitself. i attended strathcona for 3 years despite nearly being expelled because another student molested me. they were only concerned about protecting their image rather than the actual situation, so far as to go on blocking me on social media. thank god EPS were involved and arrested the student. because of the coverups of my experience, kids and teachers both had bias against me- something that could have been prevented by the staff in the first place. i have spoken to many other students who are terrified to speak up - especially after watching what happened to me.

I went to Harry Ainlay for one year and Scona for two. I definitely wish I had been at Scona for…read moreall three. Although Scona is often made fun of for it's "bathroom" appearance - the walls are green tile and it does have a bathroom feel to it because of that, it's a great school. I loved that Scona had different floors (students get a bit of exercise in between sitting at desks all day). I also love the surrounding grounds. Students are always outside enjoying the sun (when we have sun). It's a really nice area. There are also not as many students at Scona as there at Ainlay. That was a huge thing for me because I don't like being a number. I like knowing my teachers and trusting them. I like a more personal experience. In fact, I went to a memorial a few years ago that was for one of my former teachers from Scona. She passed away from cancer and there were a lot of former students there to honor her. It was nice to see. I also love how Scona emphasizes the student in student-athlete. I always had to keep my grades up to be on the basketball team. And I found that the sports teams (at least the ones I was on) focused more on personal development, hard work and discipline than winning. It was refreshing and it was wonderful! I really enjoyed my years at Scona. It's a great school.

BADDIELICOUS and no homework and had LOTS OF DRAMA and teachers were mid to best and gym is very bigread more

It's pretty good. Teachers are absolutely amazing almost every single one except Mrs. Froese watch…read moreout for her. And Mrs. Sabatier. Other than that overall pretty good the students are both amazing and downright horrible in every way at the same time. The office lady can be a bit not the best sometimes. BRING BACK MS. JONES!!!!!!!

My two sons attend Mt. Carmel. The boys are both enrolled in the Hockey Academy. The hockey is…read morephysical and mental work. Exercise has numerous positive effects on the brain...from improved attention to faster processing speed. Exercise stimulates growth of new connections. I would recommend this K-9 school to anyone interested in finding an amazing school for their child.

The negative posters do not actually have kids at Mt Pleasant. I now have, after switching my kids'…read moreschool. Having experienced many programs (5 kids ranging from elementary to adult), at many different schools, we are blown away by Mt Pleasant. This is education at its pinnacle, with kind, caring teachers who are committed to their students' excellence. They offer a classical liberal arts education, with emphasis on numeracy and literacy, but a good grounding in everything else. I really appreciate the efforts to foster public speaking skills and good character and work habits along with excellent academics. Your kids don't have to be brilliant to get in (mine were pretty average), just at grade level with demonstrated ability to focus and work responsibly. The entrance test is pretty easy. I think after testing for basic skills, the real thing they're looking for is behavioural info to see if the child can focus, or whether he will have a hard time sitting In a desk and will disrupt the rest of the students. The teachers take responsibility for making sure your kids learn and do their work, unlike the prevailing ethos at many schools where parents are considered the main educators. My kids have really responded. For the first time, they don't say "recess" or "lunch" is their favourite subject. Now they are excited about science, or LA or math or geography, and so proud of their accomplishments. I used to be so worried about my kids' education and had to put so much effort into teaching them at home. Thanks to Mt Pleasant, I can totally relax and be certain they will have the skills and habits to thrive at junior high, high school and in post-secondary. EDITED TO ADD: It's 3 years later and my husband and I agree that transferring our kids to this school was one of the best decisions we ever made as parents. My son is now in junior high after 2 years at MP and the transition was amazingly easy. The work habits and discipline he learned at MP made Grade 7 a total breeze. The only issue is that you will find MP kids are at least a year ahead of the regular curriculum in math, so you may need to supplement their math if you want them to stay accelerated. PS. The program isn't for everyone. It works best for kids who are able to sit and focus and who take instruction well. Disruptive classroom behaviour is not tolerated, so if this is a challenge for your kid, I would not recommend this program as you are only setting them up for butting heads with both their teacher and their classmates. On the other hand, contrary to some criticism I have read, this is not at all about making kids into robots. In fact, what I have found is that because all of the kids have a strong foundation of knowledge, this seems to result in a much higher level of discourse, debate and interest from them, in class and out of it. Because of the mock elections and debate in class, my son turned into a complete political junkie for the last provincial and federal election.

Okay, I'm not blood-related to any of the kids who attend the Cogito Program at Mount Pleasant…read moreElementary. But I used to work at the after-school care here, and saw what the kids are like after a hard day of Cogito. Cogito is a special academic program that uses explicit phonetics and repetition strategy to get the material into the kids' heads. They have regular homework everyday, and often the kids would do their homework in the daycare before their parents picked them up. I don't know about you, but I was never that diligent when I was seven years old. While I'll admit the program works, because these are some of the smartest kids I've ever seen, it does take a toll on them. The poor children are probably mentally exhausted, and want nothing more than to unleash all their pent-up energy from the whole day. Unfortunately right after school hours, when they're with the daycare staff! I think it's important to remember that all kids learn differently, so while Cogito may work wonders for some, it may not be the greatest for other kids, especially the ones who need to learn through hands-on activity. On that note, I will add that it's great for getting kids to read early. There's nothing like a five-year-old teaching you the difference between the "a" and "ai" phonemes!