REVIEW OF J. Addison School BY student, Sophie Nguyen

(5) Student Experience

My experience at J. Addison School has truly been good. My grade 8 teacher, Ms. Perry is an outstanding educator that is extremely helpful. She makes learning fun by giving us engaging assignments and offers opportunities for us to relax. Our classrooms are clean, well-organized and offers the ability for students to connect to the school's "Wi-Fi" network. The interior design of the classroom is quite interesting that makes an exciting learning environment. The school's cafeteria is also beautiful, as it displays various international flags that represents the diverse student population. Equally as important, the food is quite divine. Some of my favorite meals are, fried rice, fries, grilled chicken and steak. If there is something that I would consider as a positive change at J. Addison School, would be to continuously expand the technological network within our school community as they are currently doing.

(5) School Leadership

To be honest, I would have to say that school leaders, guidance counsellors, teachers and dorm team are really nice and I would not change anything about the way how they treat students like myself. I feel that there is a level of respect between them and the students. Every morning, they greet us with smiles on their faces and they make the effort to communicate with the students on a personal level to ensure that their well-being is positive.

(5) Teaching

The teachers within the elementary/junior program at J. Addison School are nice and they don't create the awareness that our primary focus is to succeed, but to ensure that our mental and physical well-being is being catered too. I don't feel tired nor stressed when doing my assignments as there is always support from the teachers as well as the dorm team to assist myself, if I am experiencing any academic challenges. I feel as an international student, the teachers understand our capabilities and provide the adequate information and support to meet our needs. My teacher always reminds us to do our very best when completing assignments. In addition, she reminds the students that if they need help, she is always there to assist.

(5) Academics

The academics at J. Addison School for myself, is fairly easy. As I prepare for high school at J. Addison, I would have to agree that the knowledge that I am receiving from my teacher will help me to succeed in Grade 9. I feel as though, the academics is fun, engaging, creative and interesting. One of my favorite subjects is "Math". The reason why I stated "Math" is because the way how Ms. Perry teaches the subject makes me understand the content so easily. In addition, this will help me to pursue a career in "Art", where I have to calculate the dimensions of my drawings. Moreover, I also love the way she teaches "Art" as well, because she exhibits a level of passion that inspires me to design within my art work.

(5) Extracurriculars

Before the current pandemic (Covid 19), I used to enjoy playing outside on the playground with my friends and taking part in fun activities planned by the school's faculty such as a "snow man" building competition, soccer, volleyball and badminton. Moreover, currently I am a residence council leader. Being a residence council leader, I am able to plan a wide-range of activities with the dorm staff to uplift the spirit of the school and dorm community.

(5) Students

The students within the elementary/junior program are friendly, cooperative and nice. The majority of the students within my classroom are from Canada as well as there are a mixture of various of nationalities. There is no type of violence, discrimination or bullying at our school. I feel confident to express myself as an international student at J. Addison School as well as supported by my teachers and friends. Personally, I feel that the students who tend to do well within my class are the ones who are hard-working, helpful and nice. On the other hand, if a student devotes too much time on video games or hanging out with their friends, I feel that these students may struggle within my class as they may not complete their assignments.

(5) School Life

If I had to give a tour of the school to potential visitors, then I would like to take them to my classroom. The interior design of my classroom, the students and the teacher within it, are all of the reasons of what I would like to highlight this to potential visitors as they demonstrate the positive ambiance that makes my learning at the school a tremendous success. In addition, I would like to take them to our school's dance studio where they would be able to see the amazing dance talents of my classmates, who can perform, hip-hop, ballet and tap. Finally, I would like to take them on a tour of the school's gymnasium, where they would be able to see the various sports being played by our students with sheer passion.

(5) Community

In my opinion, the school does feel like a small community because everyone knows each other by their first name. It's extremely difficult to be unnoticed at J. Addison School as it is a school that has about 300 students at the very moment. In addition, the school does feel like a home, where we care for each other. The faculty and dorm staff care about our feelings and also ensure that we are having an enjoyable experience at the school. In addition, they ensure that our well-being is of the utmost importance, especially during this current pandemic. Moreover, they provide us with fun activities and treats to uplift our spirits and rewards us for our hard-work. Finally, the dorm team acknowledges our birthdays by hosting a small party and giving us a small token of appreciation.

(5) School Location

In order to ensure the health and safety of the school and dorm community, unfortunately, the dorm students have limited movement for off-campus activities. Being a dorm student, I greatly appreciate the efforts of the school and dorm administration for providing alternative "safe-fun-engaging" activities that can continue to uplift our spirits, such as going to the park, ice-skating and hiking.

(5) Admissions

The initial admissions process was based on my parents' decision for myself to study and live in Canada. In addition, they also wanted to move from Vietnam to live in Canada. My parents realized that J. Addison School provided a great education, but most importantly, a wonderful and safe environment for boarding students. Furthermore, an educational agent in my home country spoke to my parents about J. Addison School and from that communication, they felt the need for me to attend the school. Equally as important, they spoke to the principal as well as the staff of J. Addison School of their expectations concerning my learning, which they were extremely confident that I would be okay. Finally, the admissions process was fairly easy as I submitted all of my documents to the educational agent. I feel that my parents made the best decision in choosing J. Addison School for me.