Roundtable Q&A Discussion About Prestige School - Toronto Campus (2020)

So the thing that I really appreciated in our school were the teachers. The teachers really helped out a lot. That's one of the best features about your school—how close knit the community is. And the teachers are very approachable and they're also very funny. They can have fun conversations with you and help you out, and a lot of them gave me very good advice even before I was going into university. When I was younger, they would always give me advice to help me with friends. If I had any situations, they would help me see different perspectives.

When I came to university  it's a completely different environment. The teachers are not teaching the same way or treating you the same way. It makes you really appreciate how amazing the teachers are in our school and how much they care and how supportive they are of you. Once you go to other schools and universities, it just makes you appreciate them even more, and makes you want to come and visit them any time that you can and say ‘Hello’ and tell them about your life.

With Prestige, there's just a lot of support and it's not just support from the teachers and the faculty, but also from your friends that you make at Prestige. You feel so supported by them as well.  You have so many people helping you to grow and develop and become the person that you are today.

The first word that pops into my mind to describe Prestige is ‘kind.’ The second one would be ‘intelligent,’ and then the third one would have to be ‘unique.’ I don't think there's any school that is like Prestige School, so they're just this unique, kind, and intelligent person.

People would be surprised that we have all the sports clubs  and I remember we had Chess Club, and then there were other clubs involved as well. I think Tennis Club is such a cool thing to have in the school. There's lots of involvement that you can get into when you're at the school.

Prestige’s life science program really helped me with first-year university because a lot of first-year biology and chemistry that I learned was almost exactly the same thing that I learned in Biology Grade 12 and Chemistry Grade 12. So it helped me feel prepared and the material did not make me lost or confused. I knew exactly what I was learning, so I just felt like I was redoing Grade 12 in chemistry and biology.

Friends, faculty, everybody at Prestige is very supportive. My advice for students would be to just reach out.  What is really helpful  is that if you have a dream and  you really, really want to do something, Prestige School will get you there. They will help you achieve what you've been wanting to do for your life. You can always believe in yourself when you go to Prestige.

For me, the most memorable moment from Prestige: I have to say prom. I really enjoyed prom. They’re always so much fun. And each time the setting and the venue just gets better and better. And it was always fun just dressing up with your friends and having this one cool event in the end to go out and enjoy. I remember them every year.

My younger brother is in his final year. He's in Grade 12, so he's enjoying it so far. He loves his teachers that he has and he's just enjoying his last school year. And I really like the person he is now and he's really become a great brother. I really like how he's been growing in Prestige.

I really enjoyed the sports programs that we had in school. And that also helped create a nice feeling of community because you got close with many friends. It was just this friendship-building experience where you're practicing how to play the sports, but at the same time, you're also working on teamwork and trusting each other and supporting each other. When you go to tournaments, you feel such a huge pride to be part of your school. It was so much fun and we would all be a unit and we just wanted to have fun together and just have a great time.

The concerts were always fun. Rehearsing, creating the decorations, helping with any little tasks that were needed was always so much fun. After every single concert, everybody would be happy. I remember the smiles and the applause.

What I appreciate most about Prestige is that a lot of teachers care about you and help you out with everything you need. I'm seeing a lot now that in university, it's definitely not like that. It's just so nice to feel that when you're in high school, and even before, to have a support system that you won't necessarily have later on once you graduate.

At Prestige, you feel like they care about you as an individual, helping you grow not only academically but also as a person, and so many fun experiences that we have that maybe some other places don't offer. We put on concerts. We've got some events going on throughout the year like International Cafe  Lots of events, fundraisers, great things that we have or had that other schools might not.

It's an excellent blend of academic and fun. The word ‘unique’ basically sums it up.

When you go to school, you don't expect that there are so many extra things that you can do in terms of involvement where we're helping animal shelters, and then we have some Thanksgiving donations. And then, also, so many fun opportunities for students. For me, DECA Club was a really good opportunity for me to participate in. It would be surprising that we've got so many other things going on aside from just the academics and learning.

I got scholarship offers from every single university I applied to. I was definitely well prepared for the application process. I went to a couple teachers for help because I had a lot of essays to write, even if it's not an English teacher. Especially when you're doing so many different applications it can be really overwhelming. There was a lot of help with that.

I'm noticing a lot of overlap with what I was taught in math and what I'm being taught now in first year of university, whether it’s because I took the AP course or just because a lot of our math teachers, even from elementary  like to take it a step further and were providing more content. If they see that you understand the basics, they'll take you a step further. So I always felt like I was ahead in math, and it's definitely helping me out right now, now that I'm in university.

My advice to students is to take advantage of everything, everything you possibly can. Get involved, do clubs, most importantly, reach out for help if you need help because no one will ever deny you anything. Everyone's really open, willing to help, all the teachers. You make lots of great friends through Prestige, lifelong friends, and just reach out, participate in everything, try to do as much as you can because that's what's going to make the memories. And that's what you're going to remember most about your school experience.

International Cafe was always a highlight of my year. It's great because everyone's working together to prepare some decorations or do some research about different cultures and make food, and everyone works together. And then, you have this one day where you get to celebrate this whole thing, and all your efforts are being displayed, and everyone gets to see what's going on. Definitely a highlight of every single year for me.

With all the COVID measures and precautions, and my younger brother having to do online school for a little bit, he was excited to go back and see his friends.  We see him light up and he likes to go to school because he hasn't seen his friends for a while. And it's a great change of scenery. He seems to enjoy his classes, especially now that he's older.

We as students were on such good terms with everybody, knowing everybody. All the teachers know you, all the teachers you can go to help with anything. Prestige was always so great because everyone is always there for you.

DECA Club is one extracurricular I did throughout all of high school and I really enjoyed it. And that was a two-, three-hour per week commitment. And I had a wonderful opportunity to figure out more stuff about business, which ultimately led me to choosing my university program.

First of all, we Googled to find the nearest private school to our location, and the Prestige School was the first school we went to for an interview. From the first impression, you got this feeling, it’s the right place for your kids to be. I think we are lucky to have the school and we feel that this school is like our family because every teacher tries to be involved in students’ success.

There is absolutely nothing I can say that I would like to be better in the school. I appreciate everything you're doing and I see you working very hard. If there is some issue they fix it very, very fast. I think that this approach is why our kids succeed in life because in all ages in the school, they see how the school works as a family, as a team. I’m absolutely happy at this stage and appreciate all you're doing for our kids.

I didn't help my daughter to choose her university because  I believe she made her decision according to your advice and your academic counselling. We got everything  at Prestige.

My youngest son, Victor, is in Junior Kindergarten. I think we are lucky to have the school and we feel that this school is like our family, because every teacher is involved in the student’s success. He already joined French. He's singing the alphabet every day, every single drive. He always loves going to school.

My older son, Gleb, he’s in Grade 7 and now has more pressure, academic pressure. As parents, we wait for this pressure because the children need to find success to deal with this pressure, to learn how to learn, and you guys are helpful. My older son is complaining that Prestige was really hard. I always force him to do extra work because sometimes he does his homework at school, and I would like him to repeat it and read it over. At this stage, you know, teenagers  he's complaining because of the pressure, academic pressure. Well, this is a good sign for me. I’m satisfied.

My daughter applied to five universities. And she even got some scholarship offers from Guelph University, but she decided to choose the University of Toronto. She got accepted to all universities, some even offered scholarships.

What surprised me is that the school is like a family, and you are able to share all your thoughts about your kid with the school office and get some feedback, even in some small things. You are seeing my children more than me and it was surprising for me that you care about this. I think it's more than just the school. It's like a family. You care about my kids and about their future, about how to make them, how to help them grow and develop and improve in many areas.

The first advice is to follow the school advice I really believe, and I would say it one more time, that the school office is working very hard for my children's success. And they see it and they feel it. So this is the most important advice.

The three words on your emblem describe Prestige: wisdom, integrity, and courage.