REVIEW OF Fern Hill School - Burlington BY parent, Anitha Krishnan

(5) Student Experience

When we began looking at schools at the beginning of our child’s Kindergarten journey five years ago, we wanted a place that would honour his individuality and natural strengths while also providing him with a safe, supportive, and encouraging environment in which he could explore, experiment, learn, and grow. Over the last five years, Fern Hill School has been a place where our child has blossomed. Naturally calm, curious, and compassionate, he has also grown in confidence and self-assurance by embracing new challenges, stepping into leadership roles, and taking on opportunities to represent the school. He finds the academic instruction and learning very engaging. In various subjects, the teachers use a combination of classroom teaching, games, activities, and quizzes/tests to foster learning. The individualized pace of study and opportunities for enrichment further ensure that learning remains interesting and challenging. In addition, he loves the Physical Education classes and is excited about upcoming opportunities to travel to other private schools and participate in inter-school sports now that he’s in a higher grade. The teachers seem genuinely interested in offering an engaging and intellectually stimulating experience for children inside and outside the classroom, and that shows in the excitement with which our child shares the new concepts he learns or the different experiences he has at school. I also appreciate the fact that the teachers are very forthcoming with feedback, both in terms of academic progress and social/emotional development. They are truly our partners in providing an encouraging and nurturing environment for learning and growth. I suppose the only disappointment is that Fern Hill doesn’t offer a High School program!

Why Fern Hill School - Burlington?

We live in Burlington, so we focused only on schools in this city so as to keep commute times at a minimum. There were two main factors that tipped the scales in favour of Fern Hill. One is the vast campus that the school building is nestled in. I grew up in India, where all schools entail large campuses and playgrounds, so it was rather surprising for me to find that somewhat of a rarity here. Fern Hill has a sprawling green area bordered by woodland. The children have a lot of space to run around outdoors in all seasons (except when it rains). The classrooms overlook this green area and enjoy a lot of natural light, which is conducive to focus and concentration. The children also venture into the woodland under teacher supervision, especially during Field Studies, and these adventures into nature are experiences to treasure. The other factor that attracted us to Fern Hill is the sheer diversity of students and the cultural festivals celebrated. Every year, the school has parent-led celebrations for Diwali, Chinese New Year, Vaisakhi, Id-ul-Fitr, in addition to the traditional celebrations of Christmas, Halloween and other festivals. My husband and I have lived in many countries and visited several more across Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America. It is important for us that our child also has this exposure to different cultures and ways of life. Moreover, knowing that Fern Hill takes great pride in celebrating the diversity of its student body and their cultures was an assurance that our child and our family would be welcome here and enjoy equal opportunities for learning and growth.

Expectations vs. Reality

After disappointing experiences at a toddler Montessori school when our child was 2 years old and at another pre-school when he was 3 years old, our primary concern was whether or not our child would be given the requisite support to settle in well at Fern Hill and whether his emotional needs would be met or not. Despite the fact that our child started at Fern Hill in JK during the year of the pandemic, with the gentle support of his homeroom teacher as well as other teachers, he settled into school in about 3—4 weeks and began to look forward to it. Thanks to the kind and patient support of his teachers, it took only a little time for him to be able to shift his focus from missing home to enjoying his time at school and taking a keen interest in learning and exploring. The teachers, especially his JK homeroom teacher, Mrs. Mancini, have my eternal gratitude for this. Now, as he’s grown older, we find that the school is very invested in the overall development — academic, social, emotional — of each child. This shows in the wide range of activities the children participate in, and in how teachers and staff consistently maintain this attitude of helping students make wise choices, develop their full potential, and make the most of their student life to learn and grow. The main area in which expectations differed from reality is that it took us a little longer than we anticipated to build friendships with other families. This was partly because our child started JK in the year of the pandemic, and it wasn’t until he joined Grade 1 that many of the school activities that had to be paused during the pandemic resumed in full swing. That provided many opportunities for us as parents to meet and get to know other families and be more involved in school activities.

Your Advice

As parents, we’re always worried whether or not we’ve made the right choice for our children. Fern Hill offers many opportunities and activities — it’s sometimes incredible to see how active, engaged and busy the students are throughout the academic year — but it’s important to remember that it is a small school with about 200 children from Preschool through Grade 8. It may be tempting to compare Fern Hill with other larger schools, which are able to offer many more clubs, sports facilities, onsite lunch facilities, etc., simply due to their sheer size and number of students. When our child was about to start JK, our priority was for a smaller place with a close-knit community to ensure greater individual attention as opposed to exposure to a multitude of facilities and activities from the get-go. Another thing to remember is that Fern Hill is a school that offers academic instruction via traditional methods in the classroom, and teachers’ expectations are in line with this. While this may not suit children of all temperaments, you can rest assured that the teachers will be the first to let you know if your child is doing well in this environment or whether they’d thrive in a different setting.

(5) School Leadership

The relatively small size of Fern Hill, Burlington, is its biggest advantage. Every teacher and staff member knows each student and family individually, and I think this helps them adopt an understanding and empathetic approach whenever issues arise. Communication is very prompt and proactive. All questions are answered very promptly and in detail. Every time we’ve reached out with any issue, the school has been prompt in communicating clearly with everyone involved. We definitely feel heard, and we find that we’re able to approach the school with any request/concern without hesitation, knowing we’ll be heard and supported in the best way possible. Fern Hill is keen on ensuring that students develop a kind and courteous attitude, so the administration and staff role model this very well. The school is also quick to identify challenges and provide support so that children grow well in social skills and emotional intelligence, in addition to academic excellence.

(5) Teaching

Academic rigour and excellence are one of the greatest factors that attracted us to Fern Hill. Although the school follows traditional teaching methods, the teachers make learning fun and interesting through games and hands-on activities that enable deeper understanding and engagement with the subject. They are quick to identify opportunities for children who can be challenged more, while also providing additional support for children who would benefit from that. The parent-teacher interviews, held twice every school year, offer a great opportunity for parents to learn directly from each subject teacher about their child’s strengths and potential areas for improvement. The teachers have been very forthcoming with their feedback about our child’s performance, which is something we welcome, as both praise and feedback are great learning tools after all.

(5) Academics

The academic program is a combination of in-class learning with textbooks and workbooks, periodic tests and quizzes that increase in rigour and frequency with each grade, and practical application and enhanced learning through field trips, lab sessions (for Science), contests (for Math), etc. Ironically, given that I had grown up in India, where academic expectations are very high right from the Kindergarten level, at first, we were worried that the curriculum here was too laid-back and relaxed. Over the years, we’ve come to see how this works beautifully, because it’s not so much about learning by rote but about understanding fundamental concepts really well from as many different angles as possible. Learning doesn’t need to be stressful in order to be effective. In fact, children learn best when they are relaxed and feel safe, that is, when they are curious, interested and eager to engage and learn more, and this is something that Fern Hill executes very well. I definitely see my child adopt a growth mindset, a tolerance for making mistakes, and a willingness to learn from feedback — and these are characteristics instilled by the school that will set him up for future success.

(5) Extracurriculars

Absolutely! Fern Hill has excellent programs for Music, Arts, Physical Education, Drama, and Field Studies, which are part of the regular curriculum. In addition, the school offers several opportunities for children to participate in house team events, the school musical, choir, inter-school sports meets, Round Square events that entail interaction with other schools worldwide, travel opportunities to different places within Canada and beyond, and many more. The school is abuzz with plenty of activities, and children are encouraged to try out these different aspects of school life.

(5) Students

It’s a nod to the school’s focus on kindness and courtesy that the student body is one of the most respectful and self-assured that I’ve come across. The teachers encourage students to adopt kind behaviours and a problem-solving approach, and this dynamic can be seen when students interact in external settings as well, such as on playdates, birthday parties, etc. Class sizes are no more than 19, and this ensures every student is given a chance to express themselves and be heard. Such an environment naturally leads to a healthy, respectful dynamic among the children. The cultural diversity of the student body also instills in children an understanding that everyone comes from different backgrounds and that difference is something to be celebrated. This makes the students proud of who they are and also very accepting of people who are different than them in many ways.

(5) School Life

Judging by my child’s excitement about going to school, I have to say that the school must be doing something right! It’s hard to pinpoint the secret sauce, though. It’s perhaps a combination of small school size, the familiarity that comes from knowing every other child in the school, having a set of close friends and also respectful relationships with peers who may have vastly different interests, the diversity of the student body, the helpfulness and friendliness of all the teachers and staff, and exposure to various cultures and different ways of life that instills a certain confidence and assurance in the children from a very young age. Who wouldn’t look forward to going to a place that is designed to bring out the best in you?

(5) Community

Many of the cultural assembly programs at the school — Diwali, Chinese New Year — are primarily parent-led. Parents are also invited to attend these assemblies, as well as regular school-day assemblies, and cheer on the students. The Fern Hill Parents Association conducts several activities for the students throughout the year and actively seeks parent volunteers for many events, such as the apple pie-making fundraiser, Christmas Gift Shop, Sports Day, and many more. The school also seeks parent volunteers for field trips such as the annual ski trip and other individual classroom outings. Parents are also invited to share experiences about their work/careers with children. Overall, there are already plenty of opportunities for parents to be involved, and the school would be open to suggestions for new parent-led initiatives, too.

(5) School Location

Fern Hill Burlington is centrally located and has its own vast campus. It is easily accessible via the highway and city roads. The panorama of the vast green fields and surrounding woodland that we see when we enter the school gates is really a pleasing sight for sore eyes. The school is self-contained and enjoys a lot of privacy. While the children do not venture beyond the school grounds on a day-to-day basis, they go out on many organized field trips, which increase in length and frequency in the higher grades.

(5) Admissions

The admissions process entailed a tour of the school and a 1-hour in-class experience for our child. Recalling from my own experience, the admissions manager at the time was very patient with all our queries and forthcoming with her responses. We took our time with the visit and never felt rushed or persuaded to make a decision one way or another. They were very interested in our background as parents and helped us see similarities and differences between the school’s approach to learning compared to our own. We felt very comfortable asking everything that was on our minds. Given the substandard experience we had with previous schools, I remember asking the admissions manager if my child would be heard and comforted if he was upset and missing home. I was assured that he would. And that is exactly what transpired. After we had signed up for admission, the school remained very responsive to any queries we had at all times. We were also welcomed to attend school assemblies and become more familiar with the school prior to our child starting his journey there. I find that the staff at Fern Hill is very perceptive, many of them having worked with students for several years/decades, and that makes it easy to have an open and straightforward discussion with them about the child’s needs. The current admissions manager, Mrs. Okis, has been with the school for 30 years, and she was my child’s homeroom teacher in Grade 3. Our child has grown a lot under her care, guidance and encouragement this past year. There’s no question she wouldn’t have an answer to about Fern Hill!