Let's Talk About Calgary High Schools

[indes]

I did the Carroll thing for a semester, ended up switching to BOB. I never struggled with the studies but I found it super boring as all my friends were at O'byrne and I didn't find Carroll was an easy place to meet people. The other problem with Carroll is that everyone who goes there is spread way out as opposed to going to a designated school where it's easier to hang out after school.

[Cowboy89]

Originally Posted by Locke

Bishop Carroll isnt about 'Work Ethic' its about diligence.

Some people are hard workers but still need the kick in the ass to get to work, if he needs the kick in the ass he wont get it at Carroll and thats important to know.

That being said, Grandin is okay too, I know lots of people who went through there (who doesnt?) but Grandin is pretty much a 'you get out what you put in' type of place.

But in the grand scheme of things, its High School. If hes a kickass hockey player or something, okay choose based on that I guess, but High School?

Picking a University is important for your future, your High School's job is to get you there. I dont know, I think you might be over-thinking this a bit.

If theres an ulterior motive at play (sports excellence, etc) then I can see that, but I dont think there is really a whole hell of a lot that differentiates High Schools in Calgary as one thats better than another.

I went to Carroll (and graduated within 3 years!) and I think this is a good post. The Bishop Carroll academic experience is a lot like post-high school academic/work life. It's a lot like University or unstructured knowledge work where the path forward is mostly self-directed. It's really difficult to know in advance whether a 14 year old who basically has had all of their time managed up to this point in their life will be the kind of person who can excel and keep pace or will become someone who when given the temptation to do what they like, becomes distracted and fall off the rails.

There are plenty of distractions. I remember going to matinee movies at Chinook regularly, spending a lot of times at Tim Horton's in West Hills, and hanging out in the locker room. I even remember where people used to compete for how far away they could go in a school day while still being able to make check-in and check out so that they weren't marked absent. I recall a few folks making it up to West Edmonton Mall or the Montana border and back.

I would say that if you do plan on sending your kid to Carroll, also be prepared to yank them back to a more conventional school quickly if they fall behind the pace. At the end of the day a very bright kid can end up risking being able to graduate from High School on time or high enough marks to advance to their desired post-secondary institution. I know plenty of people who ended up 'upgrading' at Mount Royal for a year post high school because they didn't have good enough high school transcripts to get into their desired program of studies.

[OMG!WTF!]

Just make sure it's uphill both ways.

[Lubicon]

Originally Posted by jeffporfirio

Thanks.
We live in Rocky Ridge, so the commute to Bishop Caroll is long (train to Brentwood and Mount Royal bus to Bishop Caroll). That is why I'm inclined to St Francis.
As far as being motivated, he is, he does all the extra assigned work in his core courses, I personally believe he would do well as he is not lacking any motivation to study (he gets it from my wife, I personally would not have done very well in a school like that).

Most of the ex-NSA hockey kids I know that now go to Springbank are in Tuscany / RRRO. There may even be a shuttle bus from the area to school which makes getting there very easy. It sounds like you are open to moving from the Catholic system to CBE and if hockey is one of the considerations then I do suggest checking out Global. My kids don't go there and I'm not involved in the program in any way. But I do know quite a few kids that are in this program and the kids and parents all seem to have positive reviews. The few kids I do know that stayed in NSA and go to Central Memorial (from Tuscany) all mention the commute more than anything else.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Pffft, Beaverbrook was more than just dry cleaning, there was body shop, mechanics, shop built a garage every year, hair cuts.

When I was there they built a house every year

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by skudr248

Avoid AP classes, not worth it, stick with just pure -1 classes

This is totally untrue. AP classes are very good if he wants to go to a US university. Even if he stays in Canada he'll have a huge leg up.

Plus they were way more suited to me when I went. No busy work homework, better teachers, better discussions in class, it was far more like university than a regular class. Pretty sure it even counted as a prerequisite for a few classes which allowed me to skip ahead.

They are totally worth it. In fact my biggest mistake was not taking all AP classes.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

This is totally untrue. AP classes are very good if he wants to go to a US university. Even if he stays in Canada he'll have a huge leg up.

Plus they were way more suited to me when I went. No homework, better teachers, better discussions in class, prep for university. Pretty sure it even counted as a prerequisite for a few classes which allowed me to skip ahead.

They are totally worth it. In fact my biggest mistake was not taking all AP classes.

I was a full IB student and in the end it didnt mean jack other than I didnt have to write an English Aptitude paper and took a more advanced University Mathematics class...thanks for that.

I think theres benefits in terms of attitudes and things to learn, but I dont think it gives you any significant advantage or anything.

[Northendzone]

A few more details - my son is indifferent to Catholic or public school.

We live in new Brighton, so he will be taking a mix of public transit, or whatever bussing is provided, or I will be driving him, as my office is close to Chinook car, and if he is in a hockey program, it would be hard for him to lug his gear (he is a goalie) on the bus.

So far in his current school, math and science have been easy for him and he is bored in those subjects. He likes the flexibility that is offered at Carroll, but the structure there may not be right for him

[AltaGuy]

Originally Posted by Locke

I was a full IB student and in the end it didnt mean jack other than I didnt have to write an English Aptitude paper and took a more advanced University Mathematics class...thanks for that.

I think theres benefits in terms of attitudes and things to learn, but I dont think it gives you any significant advantage or anything.

I dunno - I did full IB too and it allowed me to finish undergrad in three years instead of four (guess it depends what your "higher" levels were), so that's a pretty big savings!

I did find way less busywork in IB and I'm sure the same in AP - actually reading stuff instead of making nice looking posterboards or whatever. Come to think of it, I did no homework since the grades tended to reflect how you did on exams/quizzes only as far as I remember. So that was nice.

[Hevishot]

I also graduated from Carroll in 3 years. As log as you do some work every day it's not that bad. Most of my days included extra long Westhills breakfasts or lunches and likely leaving early to get to the moto track before 4 30. If you end up with a good home room TA your more likely to succeed. I remember it being very easy to meet people even associating with people outside of your normal peer groups was a normal occurance. I wonder if they still do locker room trials.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by AltaGuy

I dunno - I did full IB too and it allowed me to finish undergrad in three years instead of four (guess it depends what your "higher" levels were), so that's a pretty big savings!

I did find way less busywork in IB and I'm sure the same in AP - actually reading stuff instead of making nice looking posterboards or whatever. Come to think of it, I did no homework since the grades tended to reflect how you did on exams/quizzes only as far as I remember. So that was nice.

I'll anecdotally agree with you on that.

My University experience was probably fairly unique as I had to take every winter semester off to work as a Tax Accountant so it took longer to finish, but I just didnt feel that there was an appreciable advantage.

And now I'm going to look like a jerk.

I dont think theres really any advantage to places like West Island College or Strathcona Tweedsmuir or any other private school. The differentiation between private schools and public or Catholic schools is, in my opinion, completely insignificant, especially at the Junior/High School level and especially when factoring in cost.

I just dont think anyone could convince me that they're getting value for their money.

[GGG]

Well the private schools have been accused of grade inflation. So if you are paying for a better final grade there's some value in that.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by Locke

I dont think theres really any advantage to places like West Island College or Strathcona Tweedsmuir or any other private school. The differentiation between private schools and public or Catholic schools is, in my opinion, completely insignificant, especially at the Junior/High School level and especially when factoring in cost.

I expect the benefits are largely social - making connections with the kinds of people who can help you in the future.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by GGG

Well the private schools have been accused of grade inflation. So if you are paying for a better final grade there's some value in that.

Only if your kid is an incurable idiot.

High School grades are easy enough to come by, you shouldnt have to pay for them.

[AltaGuy]

I definitely knew some incurable idiots who went to private school, bought some grades and good test prep, turned that into a degree from a good university and a successful leg-up in a good career with their connections.

They're now rich incurable idiots with smart parents.

[The Yen Man]

Huh, I had no idea high school mattered much. Do post secondary schools really care what high school you graduated from? I just went to whatever designated school my community was assigned to. I guess times have changed since 1998 lol.

[FireGilbert]

I took AP math and science in grade 10 at Beaverbrook (hey UCB at least we can agree on something today!) and would not recommend it. It was a lot of extra work for very little benefit and I went back to the regular program for grade 11. It also hurts your chances of the Rutherford scholarship and university placement as your marks will inevitably be lower in AP.

The benefits are that if you complete the full three year AP program there a few university courses you can skip. Unfortunately this didn't work out for a few of my friends who took AP and got into UofC engineering. If they had been forced to take the first year math and science courses, which are easy GPA boosters compared to the rest of first year engineering, they likely would not have flunked out.

[Nancy]

My son's options currently are either Bishop Carrol or Earnest Manning. Earnest Manning was initially a slam-dunk due to my son having ADD and being disorganized, though he is also "coded" as gifted. We went to the Earnest Manning open house and were a bit turned off by the size (1800 students) and the shopping-mall feel to the place. In the name of due diligence, we went to the Bishop Carroll open house and were really impressed. Maybe that style of learning would actually work better for a kid like him? Maybe it would be good prep for University? We're hoping to speak to the school at some point to find out how kids like him fare there. They did say that 10%-15% of their student body are kids with learning issues.

[JohnnyB]

The value of credentials is diminishing, whereas the value of verifiable skills is on the rise. I wouldn't worry so much about AP as I would look at what are the minimum necessary courses to keep the university path open (which he should try to excel in) and would then get my child into doing a lot of independent learning of more advanced topics with verifiable skills, plenty of which can now be learned online, and then applying those skills in building/developing interesting projects that both build real world capability while also making for a stronger college application.

[Nancy]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

Huh, I had no idea high school mattered much. Do post secondary schools really care what high school you graduated from? I just went to whatever designated school my community was assigned to. I guess times have changed since 1998 lol.

The Fraser Institute has managed to successfully cultivate the impression that there is a big difference between schools.

http://alberta.compareschoolrankings...chooltype=high