REVIEW OF Rosthern Junior College High School BY Alum, Matthew Stefaniuk

(5) Overall Experience

Before going to Rosthern Junior College I was a very shy person and had a hard time making friends. Once I got to rjc that all changed, the atmosphere at the school made it possible for me to grow as a person and come out of my shell. The staff is incredibly supportive of all the students and guides you on your journey. Having the experience of living in dorms and being responsible for myself while still having others around to help guide me made the transition to university much easier than it would have been otherwise. When moving into the rjc school body a student should be prepared to grow into a more reasonable version of themselves and to have the opportunity to figure out who they want to be.

(4.5) School Leadership

While I was at the school there was a shared mutual respect between the administration and the student body. When it was required the administration would step in to do disciplinary actions but more often they would pull the affending students aside and have a conversation which lead to the student coming to their own collusion on how the discipline should unfold. Parents were always informed of how their kids were doing, no mater if it was good or bad. As students we knew that the administration was aware of what I had done but I didn’t feel like they were judging us for our actions.

(5) Teaching

At this school more than where I attended previously I truly got the feeling that the teachers were invested in how their students did and that they were willing to put in the effort to help every student achieve more no matter if you were naturally smart or if you struggled more. After hours the staff all were a coach on one of the various sports teams which helps to deepen the relationship between student and teacher. At rjc students call their teachers by there first name, this may seem like an informal and disrespectful thing to do but in actuality it is quite the opposite. By calling your teacher by their first name you connect with them more as a human being than just having them been a someone above you that you don’t care to listen to.

(3.5) Academics

The courses offered by the school are all really well done. What stands out most about the school in how almost the entire student body participates in the choir. Most teenage guys who would not otherwise be interested in such a class are part of it and have fun in the class. All of the other core classes are also taught very well and I felt like I learned more st this school than my previous one. The only downside of rjc is that due to the student body size they can’t offer as wide a range of elective classes.

(4) Extracurriculars

The number of extracurricular activities at rjc is just incredible. The activities spans from competitive hockey, football, and volleyball teams, just to name a few, to just for fun activities that’s get the entire student body involved and talking to each other. A large number of the just for fun activities are student planned and run which means they are actually events that the student body enjoys and want to participate in.

(4.5) Students

Rjc has a smaller student body, in and around 80 students currently. For most students at rjc this actually ends up being a good thing because it forces you to talk to other kids that maybe you wouldn’t have if there were more students that were more like you at the school. Just because it’s a Christian school doesn’t mean the students must be, there is a wide range of different beliefs and everyone is accepted and allowed to believe what they will. While most students developed a circle of friends they most often spend time with there is no feeling that a student can’t cross circles and talk to anyone they want to.

(4) School Life

The quality of student life is really high, I loved my time at the school and it provided me with many opportunities that I would not have and could not have anywhere else. When you put a bunch of guys in a door together they are bound to find ways to have fun and experiment in trying to find the limits of what they can do. The school did a wonderful job letting us explore and find that line while still protecting us and fostering an environment where mistakes are acceptable. Students are often very happy with their situation and with the exception of the end of the school year, when it get incredibly busy at rjc, most students go through the year without ever having overwhelming levels of stress.

(4) Community

The community after leaving rjc is just as great as the community is while at rjc. A number of my good friends I have currently are still my friends from while at rjc. The school also does a wonderful job of keeping alumni involved and of forming relationships between the alumni and the current student body. Twice a year the school hosts an alumni turnement where alumni can form a team and come back to the school to compete against other alumni as well as against the current team from the student body. While parents are not normally at the school doing things with there kids they are very well informed of the happenings and are invited to join their kids on the schools service trips.

(3.5) School Location

While the school is entirely self sufficient many students would venture into the town to go pickup snacks from one of the local stores or to go to a friends house. Since some of the students at rjc still live at home with their parents it is easier to get to know the town and venture off the school grounds. A number of the sports teams are also combine with the public high school in rosthern which helps rjc student extend themselves outside of the school grounds.

(4) Admissions

The current admissions lady is very high energy and makes a potential student get excited about the school and the year they could have while attending. The process of applying was actually very painless and easy to do. I found the hardest part of the process to be the questionnaire about my personality since I didn’t know myself that well. This questionnaire is used to help the staff at the school determine who your roommate should be so that you will get along well but also be exposed to other ways of life. The friendly smiling faces that do all of the administrative work when a new student applies makes the process as easy as it can be. While the admission people want everyone to come to rjc and enjoy it they also understand it may not be the perfect fit for everyone and won’t lie to try and convince everyone that rjc is the place for them.

(3.5) University placement and counselling

When I was at rjc I didn’t need much help or guidance in choosing, and applying to the university that I wanted to attend. The school was very helpful with the paperwork required to apply for post secondary. When import ant papers, such as my transcript, needed to be sent to the university rjc made that process very easy since they did it for me. While they may not of helped me choose or apply for the school I choose to attend they were very knowledgeable about the process of applying and made sure that I didn’t miss any deadlines. The school also took us to some career fairs and on a tour of a university to help us gain an understanding of university life and to find what we wanted to do after high school.