REVIEW OF Hillfield Strathallan College BY parent, Andrew Liu

(5) Student Experience

We have nothing negative to say about HSC. Our family loves the school. We will never be regretful of sending my kids to HSC. The school provides lots of opportunities for kids, such as extracurricular programs, sports clubs, model UN, etc. The school always provides transportation for kids’ extracurricular activities. Parents know our children are in good hands at the school. They love the food in Lawson Hall. All the teachers and faculty are nice. We never hesitate to reach out if we have any concerns. My kids were shy in the beginning but the school encouraged them to be confident and to learn how to talk, make a speech, etc. I’m amazed by my kids’ presentation skills now. It’s truly amazing to see what they’ve learned for so many years. I’m confident that the school helps our kids to be ready for university.

(5) School Leadership

The school communicates with families well. We get regular emails from the school. We can log in to Myhsc to check up on all news and notifications there. The school cares and listens to parents’ feedback. For example, about E week. The school has parent-teacher meetings and some information and curriculum nights for parents so parents can be involved to know everything about children’s academic plans. Parents can always call or email teachers and principals to express concerns and questions or seek special help.

(4.5) Teaching

My children’s teachers are generally very competent at their jobs. They provide good feedback when students ask them for extra help and provide reasonable deadlines for their students. I also appreciate that they provide extensions quite easily as my children often have outside-of-school commitments that hinder them from completing their coursework on time. I feel that both my children receive a good amount of work. It is challenging, but not too hard. We are happy about the academic progress. My kids definitely are more advanced than lots of their friends in public schools. Only one substitute teacher was a little harsh, we talked with the school about it. It was solved by the school. I feel all teachers care about all kids and genuinely love teaching.

(4.5) Academics

The strength is they kindly push and help kids to be stronger in academics. We can see homework more and more each year but it’s a good thing. There are flex times so kids can ask any questions about learning with their teachers. Teachers always encourage students to ask questions and never hesitate to ask for help. Teachers regularly update learning progress with parents. We can get regular emails about what they are learning this semester and why I got this email because my kids didn’t have a nice score for some quizzes. The school also provides flexible learning opportunities, if kids are too advanced at math, they can go to a grade higher for math classes. The school already takes care of it before parents ask for it. I love that.

(4.5) Extracurriculars

There are adequate extracurricular opportunities. My daughter has tried a lot of different extracurricular activities such as rugby, snowboarding, golfing, swimming and basketball. The school always provides transportation for those activities. It makes parents so much easier. How can we not love it? There are some traditions for students as well. For example, grade 5 will go skiing, grade 6 will go to RBG for camping. Children and parents know what they will expect each year.

(4.5) Students

My kids get along with their friends. They’ve loved the school since the first day. The school has a very diverse culture. HSC offers good programs so all students can feel they are included and involved. The school has almost 1250 kids from 18 months to grade 12. It’s also a reason we love the school. My two kids can grow up together in one school. So can their friends. They can have lifelong friendships which will benefit their whole life. As parents, we can know so many families throughout the school years. We build up friendships as well. HSC is a big community but we never feel left out. As parents, we are always involved and notified of any events, ceremonies, seminars, school trips, etc.

(4.5) School Life

My kids love the school. When they were little, they loved the food in Lawson Hall better than going to school. They love school buses, they can be picked up on our own driveway and drivers are always nice to them. Principals really know every student’s name, that is truly amazing. Kids feel they are important. All teachers really encourage them to come out of their comfort zones, and challenge themselves a little bit. I think the school can ask students to do some surveys about how to improve school life. The school has had lots of leadership opportunities for kids such as ambassadors, Prefects, House captains etc. There are scholarships tests for kids. It can encourage them to achieve better academic goals and feel more confident.

(5) Community

I’ve been volunteering and a Parents’ Guild member since we’ve come to the school. All parents are very kind and eager to get connected and help the school. We try to have welcome new parents cafes, hikes, social events to make sure parents can be connected. We encourage each grade to create a group chat so they can communicate better. Whoever has questions, they can always ask in the grade chat and someone always can answer them. The school has had unbelievable support for the PG. The school gives the PG a fund each year and encourages the OG to be creative in its own way to build a better and strong parent community. Throughout so many years, I can say lots of parents love the school and love to socialize with other parents.

(5) School Location

This school has 45 acres of property. The location is very good for us. We only need to drive 10 mins. The campus is beautiful and safe. The school is planning to do a middle school renovation. It will be a better and more beautiful school after the renovation although my kids won’t benefit from it. Who knows? My grandkids might benefit from it.

(5) Admissions

The school has flexible payment plans for admission. The admission to HSC is very reasonable compared with Appleby College and some other private schools in Toronto. In February, we have to confirm if our kids will come back to HSC in September and pay $1000 for each kid. The admission office has regular Open Houses. They make sure all new families will be aware of admission. I suggest we can tell new parents about extra costs like trips, uniforms purchasing, etc.

(5) University placement and counselling

As parents, my husband and I didn’t grow up in Canada. We don’t really know what we have to do for university application. Thank goodness, there are counsellors at the school. My 12th-grader son had to see his counsellor almost every day during applications. The counsellor is very patient and kind. All counsellors had a parent night to notify what we should do and when deadlines are. We trust counsellors. There’s no way they would let our kids mess up. What a relief. The counsellors also communicated with parents. I got an email from my son’s counsellor to be updated on his progress. The counsellors organized a few university fairs at the school. That was very informative and convenient. All the counsellors are very responsible and knowledgeable, which is helpful, especially for overseas applications.