Category Archives: Our Kids

Review of Glenlyon Norfolk School

Glenlyon Norfolk School (GNS) is an independent, coed day and boarding school offering Grades JK through Grade 12. The Beach Drive campus—the only Junior School with an oceanfront campus in the country, as far as we know—houses JK through Grade 5. The Pemberton Woods campus houses the Grade 6 through 12 program. The first thingContinue reading “Review of Glenlyon Norfolk School”

Teaching girls to change the world

After a year in the role of principal of The Linden School—and what a year it’s been—we spoke with Tara Silver about what girls need, how girls learn, and how the Linden School has pioneered in all of that. In 2014 Tara joined The Linden School in a senior student advising and teaching role beforeContinue reading “Teaching girls to change the world”

Food is home 

For any school, gathering over food is key to student life. At Columbia International College, with students arriving from all corners of the globe, that’s true in ways, and at level that is unmatched in the world of private and independent schooling. Partnering with Chartwells has helped CIC students access healthy options and new experiences,Continue reading “Food is home “

Microsoft needs you

An interview with Marc Seaman, VP, Education Segment, Microsoft Canada Since Marc Seaman started as the lead of the Microsoft education team 8 years ago, a lot has changed, particularly in the past year in response to the demands of the pandemic. But even before that, he wanted to shift the focus away from things—devices,Continue reading “Microsoft needs you”

Why your school needs Zebra Robotics 

For many educators it’s been a struggle to meet the requirements of the new Ontario coding curriculum. What if you didn’t have to?   In June 2020 coding was introduced into the Ontario math curriculum for the first time. For a range of reasons, it understandably caused more than a few ripples in the educational community.Continue reading “Why your school needs Zebra Robotics “

Learning in the spaces in between

When Glarea first opened its doors, the intention was to be different. It is. “I really need to share this, because I think it’s a fantastic story.” That’s Rita Rai, the founding head of Glarea Elevated Learning in Surry, BC. The school is new, and the first full academic year was also the one in which COVIDContinue reading “Learning in the spaces in between”

A better way to learn

With 160 courses, a faculty of 70, and 5,000 students, Blyth Academy Online is demonstrating what online learning can be.  When I reached James Newton recently he was working through a chemistry lab. “I’m doing the combustion of methane,” he said. He had all the materials and diagnostic tools at hand, including a calorimeter, orContinue reading “A better way to learn”

Finding an academic home in the online world

From chemistry lab to student council, Blyth Academy Orbit brings the high school experience online. “He’s a great teacher,” says Lauren Enright of her chemistry instructor, Mr. Kearney. “He makes jokes to keep the class interested and engaged. A lot of the concepts in chemistry can be a little bit tricky to wrap your mindContinue reading “Finding an academic home in the online world”

What will camp look like in 2021?

It’s a good question. The answer? Different. And in some ways, more important than ever before. Camp is known for the personal challenges it can offer, the activities that build grit, resilience, and character. That said, I’ve been speaking with camp directors about what they expect for the year ahead, and one commented that thisContinue reading “What will camp look like in 2021?”

Dressing the future

For a quarter century, Kirstin Broatch has been dressing students for learning and for life We know intuitively that companies are made up of people, not buildings and banks, though we may be prone to forget that sometimes. Should you ever need one, Kirstin Broatch is a particularly good reminder. Owner and CEO of InSchoolwear,Continue reading “Dressing the future”

A multi-faceted approach to learning at a distance

Parents want clear plans, strong leadership, and options. And that’s exactly what Blyth Academy is delivering.  “We’ve learned a lot,” says Kathy Young of the experience of educating through a pandemic. “I think some of it is what good educators have always known,” such as the value of personalised instruction, the need to be responsiveContinue reading “A multi-faceted approach to learning at a distance”

Bringing character forward

While it’s easy to recognize character—we know it when we see it—it’s famously more difficult to define. Harder still is to describe how character arises. In his recent book, The Second Mountain, David Brooks struggles with the concept, something that he’s been doing since he wrote, The Road to Character in 2015. There he describedContinue reading “Bringing character forward”

Glarea, set to open this fall, is the school to watch

“The school, pretty much at this time last year, was just an idea,” says Nadia Irshād, an administrator who has been with Glarea since it launched nearly five years ago. The idea was to offer students a uniquely immersive academic experience, one that would contribute to their understanding of themselves as learners and build theContinue reading “Glarea, set to open this fall, is the school to watch”

155 years of Trinity College School

“I had an accident with gunpowder,” wrote Peter Perry in his diary. He was a student in the very first cohort at TCS, and was maybe a bit of a handful. In time his diary entries became more detailed, if equally enigmatic. “Thursday, [April] 12th. Rainy all day. Dinner: veal and roly-poly. Did not take any pudding.Continue reading “155 years of Trinity College School”

Live your passion!

“I think my first instructor was confused the first time I went for a lesson,” says Katie Drysdale, who began guitar lessons nearly two years ago. “He called my name and I responded. Maybe he thought the name ‘Katie’ was a young person’s name. Mind you, he looked about 12 years old.” Katie was 87. Continue reading “Live your passion!”

Behind the scenes at the museum

Playing and learning within Toronto’s foremost cultural and scientific institutions For Our Kids Media “Maybe some children have overdosed on simulations on their computers at home and just want to see something solid — a fact of life,” says paleontologist Richart Fortey.  “Maybe a museum should be the place to have an encounter with the bonyContinue reading “Behind the scenes at the museum”

What makes a great teacher great?

What should parents be looking for in educators? Beth Alexander, a primary and elementary instructor at The Linden School, is a teacher that a lot of people think is great, including the prime minister. In 2017, she received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and this year she was the first Canadian educator to earn a Lowell Milken CentreContinue reading “What makes a great teacher great?”

Camping on campus

Summer camps hosted by some of the best universities in North America for Our Kids Media Camp is about environments: allowing kids to access new ones, to engage with new communities of people, and to enter new communities of interest. In some instances, that’s the university environment. For many campers, sessions hosted on campus offer theContinue reading “Camping on campus”

Growing up in a changing world

Now more than ever, kids need camp by Glen Herbert for Our Kids    Up until the mid-1960s, a typical day at Camp Wanakita began as it always had: with a compulsory, camp-wide skinny dip. The camp was still all-boys, and modesty clearly wasn’t at a premium: the campers needed to be clean and, withoutContinue reading “Growing up in a changing world”

What does it mean to be a global learner?

Schools like Pickering College are redefining international education by Glen Herbert for Our Kids   There was a time when the concept of international education and global learning was principally about experience: getting students out into the world, travelling, first to Europe and then further afield. The world was posited as a rich museum ofContinue reading “What does it mean to be a global learner?”

Learning to lead

Quebec’s Camp Nominingue leadership program offers transformative and important experiences for youth by Glen Herbert   “It’s something big for me,” says Olivier Girard when speaking about last summer, the one he spent as a Leader in Training (LIT) at Camp Nominingue. “I’ve never had a month like that in my life.” Certainly, he hasn’t, and heContinue reading “Learning to lead”

Camping differently

While not all children love all camps, there’s a camp for every child to love. by Glen Herbert   Despite increasing enrollments at technology camps—in some cases reaching into the thousands—there are those who will question the place of technology within camp programming. As founder of Brick Works, a tech camp based in Waterloo, Ontario, that’s a concern DavidContinue reading “Camping differently”

Reimagining girls’ education

The Linden School’s ongoing impact on how we think about how girls learn. By Glen Herbert All private schools defy the stereotypes that the general population might have about private education, though the Linden School is a particularly stark example of that. Founded by Diane Goudie and Eleanor Moore in 1993, the school was intendedContinue reading “Reimagining girls’ education”

Night owls by nature

Some schools, such as Toronto Prep School, are adapting their schedules to their students’ sleep cycles. The question is, why aren’t they all?  by Glen Herbert   “The optimal time for teenagers to learn is late in the morning through to late afternoon,” says Fouli Tsimikalis, vice principal of Toronto Prep School (TPS), a school sheContinue reading “Night owls by nature”

Do all students need tutors?

Cutting edge academic programs, such as Focus Learning, suggest that, yes, they do. by Glen Herbert for Our Kids   When we think of after-school academic programs, thoughts first turn to remediation: extra classes to help struggling students raise course marks. For some, that’s certainly the impetus, though ‘tutorial,’ more properly understood, refers to a styleContinue reading “Do all students need tutors?”

A Brief History of Boarding Schools

The British Tradition British boarding schools have historically provided the model for boarding schools in Canada. Prime among the antecedents is the King’s School in Canterbury, England. It was founded in the year 597 and, until the dissolution of the monasteries act nearly a century later, it remained a cloistered religious institution. At King’s, studentsContinue reading “A Brief History of Boarding Schools”

3 key steps to an allergy-free summer

(For Ourkids.net) As we move into summer, we also move deeper into allergy season. Because both day and overnight camps can include a lot of time communing with the outdoors, parents can expect their children to exhibit a range of reactions. Children suffering from allergies tend to experience higher levels of irritability and sadness thanContinue reading “3 key steps to an allergy-free summer”

The cognitive benefits of Mandarin/English dual-language instruction

(For Ourkids.net) “When you learn a second language,” says Donna Booth, “it lets you know that there’s more than one way to do things.” As principal at Toronto’s Dalton School, an English/Mandarin dual-immersion school in Toronto, Booth sees the benefits of that in her work every day. Less obvious—though becoming more so—is how learning languages can affectContinue reading “The cognitive benefits of Mandarin/English dual-language instruction”

Why do parents consider private school?

The answer is best expressed in a single word: Choice   “The common school ideal is the source of one of the oldest educational debates …  The movement in favour of greater educational choice is the source of one of the most recent” —Rob Reich[1] Education in public schools remains the dominant form of education inContinue reading “Why do parents consider private school?”

This camp will change your life

Learning confidence, leadership, and life skills at Quebec’s Camp Nominingue for OurKids.net by Glen Herbert Not every Rhodes Scholar has been to Camp Nominingue, but at least one has. Colin Robertson got the nod last November. One of the first people he called with the news was the director of Nominingue, Grant McKenna. That saysContinue reading “This camp will change your life”

Welcome to Canada, Welcome to camp

(for Our Kids) “They made me do the presentation twice,” says Tanya Springer. “[They were] gasping at each and every picture of a lake or sunset. They each had things they were most excited for. Pottery, swimming, sunrise canoe paddles … even sleeping in bunk beds.” Springer was presenting to two families of new Canadians,Continue reading “Welcome to Canada, Welcome to camp”

Navigating the gap year

Neuchâtel Junior College (for OurKids.net) At its simplest, a gap year is a non-academic year between high school graduation and enrollment at university. It’s becoming more common, and more structured, though the vast majority of Canadian parents didn’t take a gap year. Because of that lack of first-person experience, misconceptions abound. The fear is thatContinue reading “Navigating the gap year”

Students praise LCS outdoor education program

By Glen Herbert for OurKids.net One of Betsy Macdonnell’s first glimpses of life at Lakefield College School was a grade 9 outdoor education class, one of the stops on her first tour of the campus. “I remember seeing how supportive they were with each other,” she says of the students, particularly in the case ofContinue reading “Students praise LCS outdoor education program”