The Our Kids Private School Expos seek to bring together parents, families, schools, keynote speakers and representatives from across the country to discuss private school. Learn more in our recap of the Calgary Private School Expo below!
With an estimated 146 families and 411 people in attendance, the first Calgary Private School Expo held on Sunday, September 30th, 2012 was an amazing success!
The first Our Kids Private School Expo of its kind in Calgary, the Expo invited families to speak with schools and current students from Calgary and elsewhere in Alberta and Canada. Elementary, middle and secondary schools; boys and girls schools were present, from Edmonton, Calgary, British Columbia, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Montana and even Switzerland—all in one day, all in one location.
About 115 people attended the information sessions starting at 10:30am, with keynote speakers Bruce Mutch, Wayne Schneider, and Carol Grant-Watt discussing “How to choose the best school” and “How to pay for private school”, and Q&A sessions full of families eager to learn more about private school and get answers to their most pressing questions answered.
Lineups quickly formed at the school booths with school representatives and current students on hand to discuss everything from school life to the day-to-day environment to scholarships and the admissions process. Regardless of the type of school families were interested in, the goal of the Expo was to provide them with as many resources as possible to make the best decision for their child’s future.
For many visiting the Expo for the first time, speaking face-to-face with school representatives and current students was an incredible opportunity—one student even drove from Edmonton to Calgary to attend the Expo to choose a school!
“The Calgary Expo exceeded our expectations,” says Agnes Stawicki, Managing Editor at Our Kids Media, “We had so many families attend who were eager to learn about the independent school options. Both attending families and exhibiting schools mentioned that a private school Expo was long overdue for the Calgary area.”
Additionally, schools such as West Island College Class Afloat were thrilled by prospective applications and many were impressed at the number of students who showed up without their parents to check out the range of schools, including boarding schools.
The response from families at the Expo was unanimously positive:
“My mother asked me to drive to Calgary and pick my new school! I’m really excited about a couple of options, now I need to go home and talk to mom.” —16yr old who drove from Edmonton to Calgary (with her boyfriend, her sister and her sister’s boyfriend) to select a new school
“I wasn’t convinced about private education before this show. My wife wanted to explore the option for our son. I’ve seen a few great options and we will explore deeper now!” —Father of prospective student & husband
“I was looking for information on grants and financial support for our daughter. The financial session was a great chance to have our questions answered. Thank you.” —Mother of prospective student
Missed the Calgary Expo? Please feel free to join us at these upcoming Expos:
- Halton-Peel Private School Expo on Sunday, October 14th, 2012 from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Toronto Private School Expo on Saturday, October 20th, 2012 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm
- Vancouver Private School Expo on Sunday, November 11th, 2012 from 10:30 am to 4:00 pm
Register now to get 50% off admission for a family of four!
We’d like to thank all of the schools and families for coming out, including our sponsors and media partners for their amazing support:
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Did you attend the Calgary Private School Expo this year? How was the experience? Would you recommend the Expo to other families? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
