REVIEW OF The New School BY parent, Yulia U.Martins

(5) Student Experience

My child has been truly thriving in this school. She enjoys the flow of the day, which allows her to have a variety of experiences in a very balanced way. The environment allowed her independence skills to shine. She enjoys intentional learning outside when the group spends time on the trails. She has made a lot of progress in her academics and with her "reading buddies" time. She made friends with kids of various age groups, both younger and older than her, which I believe is important in proper social development. After experiencing playing an instrument, she took on the role of showing younger students how it's done. She also uses lessons from AM/PM meditation blocks to help regulate her emotions when she is outside of school.

(4) School Leadership

The school leadership and administration takes very active role in fullfilling the promises in 4 pillars that school stands for, you can see the integrity in everything- from bringing amazing educators, being very specific about natural ingridients for any food functions and keeping healthy food guidelines in snacks to engaging in with local community service to demonstrate school values. There is frequent communication via email, school newsletters, group chats and message boards with announcements. Since students are greeted by the school principal in the morning at the drop off, parents get a chance to have personal communication as well.

(5) Teaching

One of the main reasons we have chosen this school is because of the student-centric approach, emphasis on emotional intelligence education, nature-based learning and faith integration. My daughter has been homeschooled for 2 years prior to joining The New School, and I first and foremost wanted her to be supported in the transition to the school environment. She started with a kindergarten mixed group and was ready to move into the older group in the middle of the school year when she was ready. Mrs Caroline, a teacher for a Kindergarten class, had been incredible. She has an amazing approach to younger children and creates opportunities for them to be curious and lead their own learning, for example, using observations from a nature walk and then building activities on the subject that interested them, incorporating language development, math, science and other subjects in a way that looks fun. I loved to have regular goal-setting 1-on-1 meetings and feedback.

(5) Academics

Personally, for me, the academic philosophy of The New School was so much aligned with how I was homeschooling that the transition was very smooth. The learning happens through real-life situations. For example, in fall, the school field trip to an Apple farm resulted in a whole week of learning- counting, the relative size of apples, cooking applesauce sauce and writing labels/recipes. Another example is the kids in the Kinder class, who set up a grocery story and learnt a number of concepts like math, nutrition, financial literacy, and food groups through play. A very important consideration is that students are in mixed-age groups so that teachers leverage an opportunity for younger ones to learn with older ones and for older kids to support the learning of younger students. However, each student follows the focused block at their pace. I have seen 6-year-olds that complete 2d Grade assignments.

(5) Extracurriculars

The school has a very holistic approach to well-rounded development, and extracurriculars reflect it well. Seasonal lessons in tennis and skating are an extension of physical education. Music, French, chess, and theater are among the things that are offered to students. STEM club, as well as Art classes, are available for students on campus after school. Regular field trips are always a great experience for kids, from building robots at the Tech lab to exploring light workshop in Aga Khan museum.

(5) Students

I love that it's a very small, close-knit group; they are very close to each other and get along very well. It's a range of children from kindergarten to elementary grades, but it allows for great dynamics between them, and older kids feel ok to engage with the little ones. With a bigger group size, you would generally see older kids separating themselves, which is not the case here. The kindergarten group interacts with students from older grades during the break, and they play together after school as well. They also take pride in demonstrating values like choosing natural food- and I have seen how they have been influencing new students to learn to make healthy choices. Overall, it feels like a family, so it's very nice. We wanted to provide the best possible environment to our children, and the group size doesn't feel intimidating, so our child feels confident and can express herself freely.

(5) School Life

My child loves going there; she is very engaged with other students, and I am happy to see friendships that are being developed. She always talks about things she's done at school and is very proud to share her projects. Daily routine supports a holistic approach with a balanced view on social, emotional, physical and spiritual growth, in addition to academics. I like that students start and finish their school day with mindfulness practice that allows them to set the reflections in the morning and also have a moment of calm before heading out. There is a community outreach aspect when students are engaged in activities to reach out and serve the needs of the community beyond the classroom, which is an important value. My second child is to start kindergarten next year, and she already has friends who can't wait for her to join.

(5) Community

It is a great community. I haven't had an unpleasant encounter with anyone; they are very friendly, like-minded individuals who are very invested in their children's well-being and growth. Almost everyone is involved in some capacity- volunteering at special events, sharing the resources, supporting the school at field trips (for example, going to a strawberry farm), and arranging the carpool. It is also great to see many parents bringing ideas and engaging in activities. For example, at the recent end of the skating season, a lot of parents showed up to the arena and supported last minute Pancake Tuesday celebration- it was so lovely to see shiny smiling faces of children. There were occasions when some parents arranged a special lunch celebration. We've had one family gifting a set of vitamins to all of the kids before the winter.

(5) School Location

The school is located by the Humber River ravine, so it's a great place for kids to explore and do nature learning blocks. The school is next door to a Chapel, which adds charm and a community feeling. It's located in a good residential neighbourhood. There is a big parking lot that supports hustle-free pick-ups and drop-offs (I'm comparing to what I observe at local schools).

(4.5) Admissions

Each family gets a chance for an individual interview to see if the school's philosophy is the best fit for the values and educational philosophy of the family that's coming in. The school prides itself on its great community, and it's important that you understand the school pillars. There is a presentation deck and school handbook to review. Then, there is an opportunity to tour the campus and even arrange for a trial school time. We've done the application via google document, there is an option to fill out the physical application form. Since I applied in the summer during the school break, I didn't have a chance to meet and talk to other parents, but this would be a great way to get some more feedback and be introduced to the community. The school organizes regular community events where it is possible to come learn about the school, see some displays of what kids are working on and meet other families, so I recommend attending.