Interview with Lynn-Rose School Alum, Asia Rosa

They do math a year ahead of what your actual year is. So let’s say you’re in Grade 3; you would be doing Grade 4 mathematics. That being said, they do it based on the individual. So if they see a student is struggling at that level, they’ll put them back into the same grade level of math as their year. Or if the student is in that year ahead and they’re still finding it easy, straightforward, they’ll put them ahead another year. That was the case with me. Starting in Grade 6, I was doing Grade 8 math, and I think that’s the reason that I really fell in love with mathematics—because I used to be constantly being challenged.

If the kid is bored, they’re not going to learn. They’re not going to want to learn. So for me, that was the case, let’s say, when I was in Grade 6—they saw that I was really coasting through the class, so they put me up to a higher grade-level math curriculum and I was constantly applying myself. Being challenged not only helps you participate, which helps you absorb more information—but it also just gives you a sense of accomplishment as well. And as a kid, that can help be a really big motivator.

The atmosphere of the school is very caring, very driven. They put their students first, and you can feel that as soon as you walk into the school. I always felt supported, especially when I was younger. It’s very much like a family. That’s what I would say.  There’s just such a sense of security.

It was the teachers, it was the front desk administrator, even the principal—I would have meetings with her, and she’d say, ‘How are you doing? How is everything? How can we further help?’  They care more. They care first about your well-being over anything else.

The majority of the kids at that school are very driven. They always find something that they like or are passionate about. They might not be the most intelligent in math, but you put them into, say, one of the sports or clubs at the school, and that’s where they really excel. Lynn-Rose students always find something. I found there was not one person that seemed to drift. Everyone seemed to have something that they really loved. It helps bring a level of passion to the school.

Everyone feels motivated. Everyone seems like we can help each other along. That’s another thing I liked about Lynn-Rose—if you were struggling with something, the kids are as helpful as the teachers. You always have someone that you can lean on, a friend that can help you out, the best friend that you sit with in class. And it was one of the best experiences. I still talk with so many of them today.

One thing I appreciated was their ability to keep up with the times. I remember in, say, SK or Grade 1, when we were using chalkboards and whiteboards, and as soon as SMART Boards started to come in, immediately they were installed. As soon as MacBooks started becoming popular, we immediately had a MacBook lab installed. They wanted to make sure you were as up-to-date as possible on what was consistently being introduced into the world. They wanted to make sure that you were having the best and most updated experience.

I really want to go back to that point of caring about the well-being of students.  I honestly have never gotten that level of care from anywhere else. I think that is one of the most important things that they could have given me as a student, that sense of community. You don’t just feel like you’re going to a school—it feels like a family and you feel cared for. You can trust your teachers, you can trust your peers.  I think when you’re choosing somewhere to go, you want to have that sense of safety and security, and Lynn-Rose does provide that.

At Lynn-Rose they used to have things like Pasta Nights where families come. We had Café Francophone, where, in our French classes, we would actually create this café, and we would serve croissants and we would serve tea—but we would have to be servers to our parents entirely in French. And just having that level of engagement, being able to see what your kids are doing. Parents can volunteer on school trips and such like that. So my mom would always volunteer and help out, and she loved that. I would just say the fact that you can engage and be part of your child’s education in that way or see them in that way is really cool.

Being there for basically my entire childhood, before my teens I think Lynn-Rose gave me a sense of drive. I think it taught me compassion. It just gave me a sense of determination that I don’t think I had before.  And it also really helped my social skills develop. Like I was a very quiet kid when I was younger and being engaged not only with the students but with the teachers I remember at lunches, whenever I didn’t want to go out, I would stay in with one of the school administrators and help her out with things. That was something that I loved, and it really helped me develop socially and I can’t thank them enough for that.

As a student, you don’t always realize the level of quality of education that you’re getting. I think once I entered the public school system in high school, it really gave me a change of perspective. I came to appreciate the level of care that the teachers gave me at Lynn-Rose.