We are specifically looking for a few things:
1. good elementary school
2. good daycare nearby
3. as near to mountains as possible

We have been thinking about cochrane where there are two elementary schools- does anyone know about these ones? But I don't think there is 2. which may be a problem- or do you just use calgary ones?

But we are also thinking NW? Which would the best areas be?

Thanks
Gryphea

Cochrane Isnt in Calgary.
Tuscany just got a new elementary, the catholic one is due to open by 2008 (it's SUPPOSED to be a joint elementary\Junior High)

To be honest with you the more expensive subdivisions are LIKELY to have the best elementary schools (IF they have a school). They are also less likely to have available daycare (unless you use dayhomes which are the local equivalent of childminders).

If the subdivision DOESNT have a school you are taking pot luck with the school your child ends up in.

Closest subdivisions to the mountains (ie furthest west along Highways 1 & 1a). Are Cougar Ridge, Crestmont, Valley Ridge, Tuscany, Rocky Ridge, Royal Oak and Arbour Lake.

I would be tempted to dismiss Crestmont immediately (assuming you want local shopping). Cougar Ridge sits On top of COP and as such during the winter 'enjoys' a man made microclimate (the manmade snow drifts up there).

All the areas I mentioned have Pros and Cons, its just down to personal Taste. I can say that Arbour Lake has at least one decent Fanily living there. Tuscany on the other hand has a very dodgy bloke living there.

HTH a little

Butch
(Tuscany resident and wierdo)

Butch - I wish that were true! In my experience the quality of public schools is pretty much a lottery

Butch

Huh COP?
C

thanks will look at all those. BUt i suspect as below that good schools doesn't necessarily equate to parental income in the way you think, I think it relates to quality of management and staff which is more of a lottery

Just what I expected- but how do you ensure you come out winning the lottery?

Gryphea

COP - is Olympic PArk (think canada rather than calgary) which I think (having not been there) is a small local ski hill

Thanks, been there (Olympic Park) still didn't get it...DOH! ....off to lie down in a dark corner...again!
C

Having just been through the whole getting kids into school in Calgary thing, bear in mind that, execpt in very exeptional circumstances (which I cannot think of but I am sure others will tell you they did) you do not choose the school, the Calgary Education Board does and bases this on where you live. It appears to me that the catchment area thing is strictly applied here and you cannot blag it like you can in the UK.

Each community has its designated school and, unless you go private, that is where your kids will go. For example, in a community close to us, one of the schools is being renovated. Half the kids from that school are now being bussed to another and half are being bussed to a different school miles away from where most of the kids live !!

As I said earlier, I am sure that some people have been able to get their kids into the "incorrect" school but I really can't see how they did it.

Another tip is to book an appointment with the Education Board from the UK as, if you leave it until you arrive, they will make you make an appointment just to fill out forms. We "left" sorting this out until we have done all the other things you need to do when you first arrive thinking it would be a fairly simple process and that our kids would be in school within a week. After 2 days of not being able to get through to them on the phone and leaving messages (with no replies) we trundled up there only to be told the first available appointment they could offer us was for 10 days time !! That is just for them to go through the forms with you for you to then take away and complete.

Thanks for this- I did realise I think that most went to schools in thier catchment area - but I'm not sure how to assess which are the good schools , for instance here I used a combination of word of mouth, ofsted reports, league tables and my own visit, but most of those are tricky for canada and I don't really know how to make sure we rent/buy in an area with good schools?!!!

Thanks for tip re education boards. I had an inkling it was like that as I have e-mailed 2 boards and have had no replies or acknowledgments !!!!

Do you know whther schools get oversubscribed - ie if you buy/rent a house in an area are you guarenteed a school place or does it depend- or do they not get oversubscribed as they don't let people outside catchment go there??!

Thanks

Hi gryphea

We were out there in December and went to visit the two elementary schools in Cochrane. This is what we found ...

No 1 - Elizabeth Barrett - English and French classes run side by side - two of each in each year if that makes sense - you can choose either tuition in English or go into the the French immersion programme - up to you. This school is on the same site as the middle school and high school in this (northern) part of the town, so the kids just move across the field a bit when they move up school.

No 2 - Glenbow Elementary - 'English' - four classes per year. Takes in the more southern (nearer the town) residential areas.

Both schools try to keep to the guideline limit (Alberta) of 20 per class, most classes were just under that with 17-19 pupils per class - and I was advised that if more kids arrived on their books, they would just open up another class !

I have to say I was quite impressed with both schools. The Glenbow pipped the other one to the post for us - possibly because the Head was lovely - and all the teachers were just so damn friendly and welcoming ! Good gym but smaller outside space. The Elizabeth Barrett was also great (just slightly more chaotic looking with four classes sharing some pre-fabs as they were growing too quickly!).

Both schools have heavy emphasis on social skills/socialising - much more so than an English Primary (although I am very happy with our kids current school anyway) - academically it was hard to judge the difference without me looking up websites. They do not have the league tables like we do in UK but there is a kind of score system available for you to view.

Our girls liked both and are already much happier about a proposed move having now seen the Canadian version of school - it's not so scary afterall (albeit these two schools are alot bigger than what they are used to).

As this was our first and only look at schools so far, it's hard to judge - but we were more than happy with either school to be honest. I think there is also a Catholic school in Cochrane but we are not going that route. It may be wise to check out the middle schools also, from which the above two feed into. My 9 year old will only have one year at elementary before moving on.

We are hoping to go over in May, and would like to get our girls into school for 4 weeks before the summer break - so they can meet some friends before the long time off and to hopefully save my sanity if they know a few children from their area !! Both schools said it would not be a problem accommodating them at that stage of the year, or indeed in September.

I think the actual education/curriculum is not as advanced as the UK at the same age - so I suspect my two may be repeating a few things (which for one daughter is not a bad idea, but I worry the other might cruise along and I will need her to be pushed more as she is very bright). And I only say this by looking at the work on the walls, and seeing their maths or spelling or writing assignments. It will all come together I'm sure.

Hope some of that helps or is of interest to you. PM me for any more in depth thoughts !! We did not look any further within the city limits - but you have already received lots of helpful comments from the 'locals' on here ...

Cheers - Ann

Tuscany may have a new elementary school but it is full already and there are substantial areas of Tuscany were the children who live there never will get to go their local school.

There are some neighborhoods in Calgary where it is reported that people have purchased homes literally across the street from the school only to find their child is being bussed to an out of neighborhood school.

Day care is a huge issue at present in Alberta, workers are leaving in droves apparently as they can get more money elsewhere. Making daycare extremely hard to find.

Some are signing up for daycare as soon as they find they are expecting a child some even before that, the wait lists are getting that long.

Just a reminder that it's enormously helpful if you obtain from your children's British schools the detailed curricula they studied in core subjects -- essentially English and maths (which Canadians call math). It also helps to bring a couple of your children's workbooks that provide examples of his/her work in those subjects.

The office that handles the intake of students from overseas will test your children, look at their curricula and workbooks, and assign them to what they think are the most appropriate grades. However, those grades will not be written in stone. Your children's schools will keep an eye on them for their first month or so to check if the grade placements seem suitable. If a classroom teacher feels that a given child is too advanced or not advanced enough for the current grade, the teacher will recommend that the child be moved up or down a grade.

From the Calgary Board of Education's website:
I have phoned Riverside Bungalow a couple of times in the past to make enquiries on behalf of people who posted here. If I recall correctly, you will need to bring to the intake interview proof of your child's identity, proof of your child's right to reside in Canada, and proof of your family's settlement in a given neighbourhood (a document that demonstrates you have bought or rented a residential property in the relevant community).

If you have entered Canada on permanent residence visas, I believe a passport with a PR visa is sufficient proof of identity and right to reside in Canada. If one of the child's parents has entered Canada on a temporary work permit, you need to be able to show that work permit and a birth certificate that proves the child's relationship to the work permit holder. If you have entered Canada on a student visa, you need to be able to show your student visa, proof of your enrollment in a fulltime university course, and a birth certificate that proves your child's relationship to you.

Generally speaking, I would say that the impression that ann m gained from a couple of local schools is accurate and fairly representative of the school system in Calgary.

Exactly why I put the word likely in and in capitals.

Well yes, but there is always a chance that a place will come up.
Also the staff there APPARENTLY are just below the creme de la creme (I wonder why?????? Do you think the local MP and Tuscany 'Resident' may have affected the choice of staff?)