Interview with Northmount School PARENT, Barbara Padolina

My family and I have been part of this school community for eight years. It really is the community that engages you, invites you to become a part of whatever it is that they're doing. We had known about Northmount before, through other families, and heard good things about it. It's not a huge school, which was a big draw for us because it meant our son would be able to relate more easily with others, rather than getting lost in the crowd. It's a very easy environment to be engaged in, whether you're a quiet or chatty person. The Northmount community itself is quite special, and that became evident to us even when we were just looking at the school.

There's always someone at the school to greet you, update you, or say something about your child. This approachability, both with the staff and the community, has been a consistent and valued aspect of our experience. It was very straightforward and easy to approach Northmount. We went to the school and, though it was eight years ago, we liked what we saw and heard. My son, who was going into Grade 1 at the time, took to the school very quickly. Now, he's in Grade 8 and graduating this year. The school has been a big part of his journey, and our family also engaged with it easily. 

Currently, we have three sons at Northmount—one in Grade 8, one in Grade 4, and one in Grade 2. My Grade 2 son loves gym and recess, and he enjoys spending time with his friends. My Grade 4 son enjoys interacting with both his classmates and teachers. Though he struggled with math and language arts last year, his teachers helped him understand the concepts better, and now math is one of his favorite subjects. My Grade 8 son enjoys all his classes, with a particular fondness for art and language arts. The extracurricular activities, like the school play, which is a big production, also engage him. The Grade 8s get bigger roles in these productions, which makes it even more special for him.

My eldest son has done really well academically at Northmount, particularly in Grade 8. He was elected to student council as Treasurer and has been active in various school activities. He's proud of the work he's done, including a long paper for social studies that he worked very hard on. He's also excelling in math and French, even though we don’t speak French at home. Recently, he’s getting a story published with Polar Expressions, which he's thrilled about. My Grade 2 son is preparing for his First Communion and takes pride in his schoolwork, especially when he gets good marks in subjects like math or performs well in gym, almost scoring a goal in soccer.

Northmount truly feels like an extension of the home. The values of the school, being a Catholic institution, emphasize faith, service, community, hard work, and excellence. Parents are naturally engaged in the school community, and we’ve found that the families share similar values, caring about both their sons' academic success and character development. It's been wonderful to connect with other parents who have become good friends and to work on school projects together. The sense of community is especially important, as the school is growing but still maintains that small-school feel, where every student is known by name.

For many of the families at Northmount, character education is just as important as academic education. You can't just form the intellect; you also have to educate the heart, ensuring that these young boys grow up to be responsible and kind individuals. This focus on character building is something that many families, including ours, value deeply. Northmount, as a Catholic school, places a strong emphasis on Christian values—faith, service, community, and excellence. These values are not just about saying prayers or making the sign of the cross, but they translate into looking out for each other, doing your best work, and being part of a community. 

Over the years, we’ve seen how the teachers and staff at Northmount truly get to know each student. When parents could walk the hallways more freely, every teacher had something to say about how my son was doing, whether it was positive feedback or something constructive. This level of engagement showed us that the staff really pays attention to the students, making the effort to get to know each one. Despite the school's growth, they have managed to retain that small-school feeling, where character development is just as important as academic achievement. This attentiveness to each student is a big part of why we’re happy with the school.

Our experience with the administration has been very positive. The teachers and staff have always been approachable, and when we’ve had concerns, they’ve listened and worked with us to find solutions. They explain things if something isn't possible, but their willingness to work with parents is key. Northmount isn’t a perfect school—no school is—but they work hard to improve and address any issues that come up. It’s been important to us that they don’t just brush off concerns but actively engage in finding ways to make things better.