What people say about the Student Body
Strong community and inclusive culture
Insights from students, parents, and administrators highlight that St. John’s-Kilmarnock fosters a strong sense of belonging and a warm, inclusive culture where newcomers quickly feel at home.
When you become part of this community, you really feel that you've found your home, you feel like you belong. I think often independent schools talk about the community being a special element of their identity. But it really surprised me just how strong the community is and how warm and welcoming everyone was. And it's not just toward me, it's toward anyone who joins the community. New people very quickly say the same thing as people who have been here for a long time, that the community is something that's really outstanding here.
So everybody all comes into the dining hall and we eat delicious food. But more importantly, we share time with each other. [Lunch is] a technology-free environment. So everyone leaves their devices somewhere else and we all come together as a community and we eat lunch. And I think that that's a really interesting time of day. And I find, whenever I talk to other people, I'm amazed that we're not really talking about school, we're talking about life or we're talking about something interesting that happened to us.
I think it was a really good community of people. It wasn't a large school at all. It was very small, so I really got to know my teachers very well and if I needed anything, I could go to them and they knew what was up with me and what was going on in my life. The campus was gorgeous and I really liked being in that kind of environment. It wasn't in the city. It was in the country. We had a lot of good tools to use—we were never limited by anything like that. I really liked the location and all the resources we had.
I honestly think the people really made my experience there. Most of my classmates were all very focused and motivated to do something great after high school, whether that was going to college or not. But a lot of people wanted to go to university and were motivated to work really hard, which made me work hard. I have to do what my classmates are doing because we work together a lot and just want everyone to succeed. It was the International Baccalaureate Programme, which is very hard. We went through hard times together, which made it feel a family.
With St. John’s-Kilmarnock School, I was never pitted against anyone. I never felt like there were people who didn't want to see me succeed. It's not an elitist environment in my opinion.
Students can be friends with everyone at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School. I remember walking down the hall and stopping and just chatting to every person from Junior Kindergarten all the way up to Grade 12. It was an incredible environment to be in and to feel loved. You are able to be yourself and are supported in that.
I was overwhelmed by the support at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School. I really felt like I belonged in the community, and it was just almost an extension of my family by the time I graduated.
You might find something that you love at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School and it's going to become a new passion for you. It's incredible to see what you can try, and experiment with. The teachers at SJK are there for students. They will do everything and anything they can, and if you say one single word to them, they'll be right there to help. Everyone at the school will be willing to support you, and that's how you're going to become part of the community.
Opportunities for involvement
Experiences shared by the school community reveal that St. John’s-Kilmarnock provides a myriad of opportunities for students to engage in diverse activities, fostering well-rounded development.
One thing that makes SJK so special is the amount of opportunity. You can get involved with literally anything you want at that school. And if you want to do it, you can do any sport or anything. Because it's such a small school you didn't really need to try out for teams, you could do any sport you wanted. If you wanted to, you could do anything they offered, like creativity, drama, service trips. I think the opportunity that they give students really sets them apart.
Another great memory was in Grade 10. SJK offers so many things to get involved with, and they do service trips. Every other year they would organize a service trip to Nepal. It was literally one of the most amazing experiences. I'll never forget it. We have a sister school there. We help out two schools, and they're in the mountains, in the Himalayas. And so it's a trekking trip. You have to apply to go on the trip. There were probably 20 of us from different grades in high school with a couple of teacher chaperones. I've never been so immersed in a culture that was so different from mine. It was so amazing to spend that time with my peers and also my teachers. There's such a deep connection that SJK had to the schools in Nepal that it felt very meaningful.
It's always good that there's choice, that there is the right school for every family. I encourage people to look broadly at all their options and reach out to us to really understand what we offer as a school. If it's possible, come and visit us because the best way to learn more about us is to actually be here and to experience it firsthand. Look at the students and to look at what they're doing. Look at how they seem. Do they seem happy? Do they seem engaged in what they're doing? If possible, if you're able to talk to the students, ask what they're doing and hear firsthand from them what the learning activity is. We have exceptional teachers. I think lots of independent schools have exceptional teachers, but does it translate into the student experience and are they really learning what they need to be learning? You can often see a lot when you look at the students.
If you go in looking for the most from the experience at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School, whether that be in terms of taking advantage of extracurriculars, putting yourself out there to meet new people, or being willing to attend club events, and different school events, you'll have an amazing time and you'll really be able to form such a strong support network extremely quickly.
I think I would have to say for me, the biggest thing that inspired me at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School was writing for, and editing the Aqua Line, which is our student newspaper. Ever since I think Grade 7, when I had something published in it people have been saying, ‘When you get to high school, you're going to have to be the editor. You're going to edit the paper.’ In Grade 11, I ended up being the editor.
Personalized learning and smaller class sizes
Insights from parents reveal that smaller class sizes at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School allow for personalized education and strong teacher-student relationships, including unique projects and outdoor education, facilitating meaningful and memorable learning opportunities.
The things I appreciated the most about St. John’s-Kilmarnock became that close-knit community and how small the class sizes were. When I got to high school, I realized how much of a benefit it was for me educationally to have a small class. I had more opportunities to learn and be involved with the learning and also just to get really close.
Everyone relates very well to each other because they're all so close because of the small classes. You get to know the people that you're with every day so well and you can relate with your classmates about all the classes you're in because you're pretty much in all the same classes until Grade 10 or 11. Then you get a little bit more choice. Every student is well rounded, I would say, and that's something they can relate to.
From what I've heard from my parents, what they really liked about the school was that educational aspect. SJK offers really good education. In my opinion, and in my parents opinion, they have really excellent teachers. And another aspect that I think goes along with that is that it's quite a small school and a very close-knit community, and we got to know our teachers very well because of that. You can get unlimited access to your teacher for help and you build a connection with them because there are such small class sizes. You become so close with your classmates and it really gives you the opportunity to excel.
There are many reasons to choose St. John’s-Kilmarnok. If you really want to take education seriously and go to a high-class institution after high school or whatever you want to do to be successful after high school, I would really recommend SJK. It makes you work hard and makes you want to learn because everyone around you wants to learn and wants you to succeed. If you want to be in a small community, it's a great place because the classes are very small. One of my classes had three people in it, so we were really able to foster relationships. And then I really think that the location was great, being in the country with fresh air. We had a pond that made it kind of diverse in what you could do outside.
There are quite a few things that differentiate St. John’s-Kilmarnock School from other schools, but what I think made the most impact on me was the size of the school. It's relatively small, so not only do you get a lot of one-on-one time with the teachers, which is awesome, you also know everybody.
Both of our children are in the Lower School and are having a happy and enriched experience at SJK. They both enjoy their teachers, homeroom, and specialty teachers alike. The smaller class sizes allow for personalized learning and extra experiences. Our daughter's class approached the Head of School for approval to find space on campus to plant a pollinator garden during their Honey Bee Unit. The garden is now thriving and this is a special memory for my daughter and her friends. The Outdoor Educational Experience class is a favourite with lots of time outdoors and on the beautiful campus, building shelters learning about animals, and making maple syrup in the spring. Both kids have made lovely friends and continue to grow friendships. Of course, being in the lower school they enjoy the playground facilities and field games during recess with a much-used Gaga ball pit. There are plenty of co-curricular activities after school that keep our children busy and engaged, Lego club and Ukulele club as favourites.
—Laura Armstrong, parent (beginning 2021) (see
full review)
High standards and integrity
Feedback from students indicates that the school places a high value on integrity and hard work, with a zero-tolerance policy toward dishonesty and a strong emphasis on responsibility.
I think that's another value that is very much instilled in our students. I think that there's a huge culture of respect here, respect for each other, respect for their teachers, respect for our traditions, and also respect for other people's ideas and opinions and being curious about trying to understand what someone else's point of view might be. It might be different from your own.
Integrity is SJK’s highest value in practice because there's literally no tolerance for cheating or bullying or anything like that. If something like that happens, you take full ownership for it and you learn from your mistakes. Every student that I know that has graduated from there has good integrity.
If St. John’s-Kilmarnock were a person I’d describe them as hard working and able to persevere through hard times. I also think it's very welcoming. So, yeah, I would say, hard working and welcoming. Upon reflecting, I realized that we were a real tight-knit community. I remember that I never had to study for tests before I went to SJK. There, when we had tests, I had to study because there's an advanced level of content and just more things you have to know. So right away I realized you have to work hard to be here.
Focus on personal growth and success
Insights from various sources underscore that the school prepares students for future success by promoting time management, discipline, and a balanced approach to academics and extracurricular activities.
I think everyone was fairly hard working and they wanted to succeed at things. The school was able to offer things that everyone could succeed in, whether it was athletics or academics or different kinds of clubs. There's a lot of variety for how small it was. I think people who wanted to succeed could find things at SJK that could make them succeed. I also think it's a very fun place. People wanted to work hard, but they also wanted to have fun. I think students who were motivated and wanted to do well did well. In order to do that, you had to be very organized with your time because there were so many different things going on and so many things that you could get involved with. It could get pretty hectic and stressful. A lot of students were organized because they had to be—there was no other choice in order to get the work done.
My time at the school shaped who I am today. I think one of the main things that St. John’s-Kilmarnock taught me was to be very organized and manage my time. I did a lot of different sports and a lot of different clubs at the school, and then I had outside commitments as well, and they worked with me on my schedule, but I had to learn how to not waste time and use my time wisely. So I think being so busy and attending the school with a lot of work has helped me now and shaped me to be hardworking and disciplined in busy and stressful times.
Students are really encouraged to try new things and go out of their comfort zone to learn at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School. Whether that be academically or with extracurriculars, I think it shows up in all aspects of SJK. Anyone who's been to SJK can't deny the unbelievable school spirit we have, whether it be through our house competitions or the incredible sports teams that we always cheer on. In general, the school has an unbelievable spirit to it that has been unrivalled even in my post-secondary education.
The high quality of school life makes for a great student experience! Both our kids are very happy attending SJK, they enjoy going to school and look forward to school activities. The school celebrates a variety of different cultural holidays and festivals throughout the school year. Many students take pride in sharing their family's cultural traditions and experiences with other students and school friends. The school's Chaplain heads the spiritual learning component at SJK which is an additional additive area of learning for students. To round out the year, SJK offers a summer camp for registered students and uses the beautiful campus through the summer months. The school is a welcoming and supportive environment with excellent teachers and caring staff. The full variety of activities, sports, and musical offerings help to make SJK a fun school and academic experience.
—Laura Armstrong, parent (beginning 2021) (see
full review)
Lifelong friendships and lasting connections
Insider sources highlight the strong, enduring friendships and connections cultivated at St. John's-Kilmarnock School, which students cherish long after graduation.
The friendships and the connections you make will last you a really long time.
I've now done a year of university, and there's nothing quite like St. John’s Kilmarnock School. You can't have those relationships that you get to build at SJK anywhere else, and I think that's really special.
Toward the end, the workload takes a toll on you and you're ready to get out. But as I reflect on my time at St. John’s-Kilmarnock, I really do think I had a great high school experience, which some people don't get to say. I think I had a really good one, and it taught me a lot, and I made really close friends with my classmates and my teachers and I'll have those connections for a long time, maybe even professionally.
When it comes to one special memory that stands out for me at St. John’s-Kilmarnock School, it would definitely be some of the bus rides that you'd have to take, whether it was with your class, or sports team, choir, or anything. I think those are some of the times where I bonded the most with my teammates, or friends, or just my class in general. We would sing, we would dance, we would annoy the bus drivers, but I feel like those are the memories that I have that really remind me, ‘Okay, SJK is my place, and I have friends here.’
We're not an enormous school. So even when we talk about the full school, I don't think it feels like you get lost. Everyone finds their place.
A diverse and integrated community
Observations from the school community suggest that St. John’s-Kilmarnock School’s environment, with its grade integration and diverse student body, promotes an inclusive academic community where Canadian and international students support and learn from each other.
Three words to describe the personality of St. John’s-Kilmarnock are well rounded, involved, and diverse. I don't really know if “involved” describes a personality, but I want to say, involved, because you're very involved with not only the school, but with everyone else. You're involved with your teachers, you engage with them, and you're involved with classmates a lot. I would say diverse because there is such an appreciation of people from different backgrounds and cultures. They have a great international student program at SJK.
It's not a stuck-up group of kids who have only had the same experiences. St. John’s-Kilmarnock School has a very diverse group of students, who have had a diverse set of experiences, and bring a lot of unique perspectives.
The student body consists of approximately 500 students, from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12. The students are spread across various sections and wings of the school which feels as though the Lower School and Upper School homeroom classrooms are independent from each other. The students come together in places like the dining hall, gymnasium, learning commons, and chapel where there is grade integration and mixing of students. These various spaces and interactions make for an academic community that learns together, spanning ages and grade levels. The small class sizes seem to encourage students who get to know and support each other. There is a boarding program for international students, for the Upper School Years. The Canadian students help to make the international students feel at home and part of the community.
—Laura Armstrong, parent (beginning 2021) (see
full review)
